The Vampire Diaries: Blood and Fate
by BabySealLover
Summary: Vivian Sparset and Stefan Salvatore have been friends for over a century. Now, in 2009, Vivian makes a visit to Mystic Falls to see her old friend, only to discover that he has fallen for a girl who looks exactly like the one he's told her stories about from his past. And worse? She finally has the pleasure of meeting his arrogant, twisted older brother, Damon.
1. Prologue

**Sigh...**

 **Hello, this is BabySealLover with a new fanfic that I shouldn't be writing because I am currently in the middle of two others. But, alas... I am starting something new. Frankly, I felt that it was needed. For me, anyway. Change of pace and all that. I've been under a lot of stress lately and I just... well... this is at least part of the product of all that stress.**

 **Not 100 percent sure where this is going yet, but I have an idea. Major OC warning if you aren't a fan of those. This is actually about to be my first fanfiction for a live action fanbase! Pretty cool, huh? I have no particular reason for doing it... well, maybe I do a little bit. But I'll address that later on. For the moment, just know that this is something I thought would be fun, so I decided to do it. And what more is ever needed, right? :)**

 **And so... happy reading the prologue. Hope you find some enjoyment out of it.**

 **Oh, and by the way, this is rated M to be safe as a result of some violence, language, and mild adult situations, but nothing explicit or over the top. That cool? Okay.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries.**

Prologue

The bar was crowded tonight. It was loud and musty and reeked of alcohol. And, admittedly, it was probably not my usual first place to look for a meal. But finding dinner at the bar certainly had its advantages.

Of course, I nearly retracted that thought when some drunk pig bumped into me while I was trying to focus. But he slurred a half-hearted apology before going on his merry way, and ultimately I resisted the initial urge to grab him by the collar and put him in intensive care. Or worse. Drink him dry in front of everyone in the bar.

Not that I didn't know what a horrible idea that was, but I was so freaking hungry that I almost didn't care. _Almost._

I scanned the scene from the background in search of a suitable victim. It really didn't matter, as long as it looked like someone who would be easy to manipulate. But then again, humans could be so predictable to begin with.

Sitting at the bar I spotted a man who instantly caught my eye. He appeared to be—perhaps in his late twenties. As I approached, I noted the drink in his glass; from the look of it, it was probably some sort of vodka. The man had light hair and was fairly good-looking (not that that was important in this case) and he appeared to be alone. Definitely the "I'm drinking my troubles away" kind of guy. It was the ideal setup if I had ever seen one.

So I pulled out my inner actress and let out a sigh before sitting down casually in the seat next to him. The bartender came over and I smiled at him. "I'll take anything scotch," I said, sliding a few dollars toward him as a tip in advance.

While I waited for my drink, I decided to be proactive and get this over with. I turned to the man beside me with the friendliest expression I could muster. "Hello there, stranger."

His head moved and he peered at me vaguely through dark green eyes for a few seconds as if he wasn't sure I'd actually spoken. But then the ghost of a smile appeared on his lips. "Well, hi, to you too—stranger." He was definitely drunk, but not completely wasted sort of drunk just yet. Still—enough to make him a look a little unfocused—and perhaps a bit too relaxed.

"I don't think I've ever seen you around here before…" he said quietly, now looking at me more closely with obvious interest.

"Does that mean you come here a lot?" I asked, taking my scotch from the bartender and thanking him silently.

He shrugged. "Maybe I just pay attention." A flirtatious smirk snuck up on his expression, and my inner hunter's laughter reverberated through my head.

 _All too easy._

"Well, either way," I said, taking a sip of my scotch, "You guessed right. This isn't usually my scene. I'm just a girl looking for some more adventure in her life."

The man turned his face away and peered into his drink, as if there was something particularly interesting about its contents. "Adventure, huh? I don't think you came to the right place."

Mystic Falls? Not adventurous? Guess I couldn't argue with that.

So I smiled. "Then maybe you could show me where the adventure is."

There was a short pause and he glanced at me again. He raised his eyebrows slightly. "Hey, there… don't think I don't know what you're doing."

I pulled back innocently. "What? I'm just trying to be friendly. Can't really help it if you just happen to be irresistibly charming."

Okay, so I was laying it on thick. If I had to, I would just compel him to be agreeable. But with the way things were going, I guessed it probably wouldn't be necessary as long as my patience held out.

I could tell by the sudden light in his tired eyes that I had caught him by surprise. Despite his moderately drunken state, I heard his pulse quicken just a bit. "Irresistibly charming, hm? No stranger's ever called me that, before."

Leaning my chin on my fist, I said, "So you've been called that before by people you know?" His mouth opened slightly, but I received only silence. So instead, I changed the subject. "My name's Vivian. Yours?"

"Sam," he replied after a short pause.

I shifted my weight and crossed my legs, making note of when his gaze dipped for just a second. "Well, Sam…" I told him, "It looks like you and I aren't strangers anymore."

Sam reached over to rub the side of his neck absently. He said something to me, but I missed it when he drew my attention away with his hand. Now I was suddenly too busy watching the pulsing of his throat—the tiny purple vein and the sound of the blood pumping through his system. How good it would feel to simply lean in now and sink my teeth through that soft, white flesh and tear open his delicate artery. And the taste of fresh, warm blood on my tongue, sliding down my throat…

By the time my brain caught up with me, I realized I was leaning much closer to him than I had been just a moment ago. In fact, I was just a few inches away from his face. Luckily, he couldn't read my mind and probably hadn't guessed that I was just fantasizing about his death. I swallowed back my hunger in an effort to prevent myself from attacking someone in public and tried to get back into character as best as I could.

"Then maybe… since you and I are on a first name basis now, you could introduce me to a little bit of adventure after all." My voice sounded hoarser than I intended, but ultimately I think it worked to my advantage. His eyes were on my lips and his breathing pattern had changed. I had him. As I gently placed a hand on his knee, I muttered, "You look like you could use a break from the real world. Want to get out of here for a little bit?"

I could tell there was a part of him that hesitated, but he was either desperate or just a drunk man with weak will power, and he smiled. "Okay, let's go."

The two of us snuck out the back, and with every step the anticipation grew more unbearable. Sam held the door for me and we came out in the middle of a quiet alley way. The end-of-summer air hit my skin, and I almost laughed at how fitting _and_ convenient our location was. Not a single force stood in my way. This would be over quickly. Perhaps too quickly.

The instant Sam shut the door, I snatched him by the collar of his shirt and pushed him up against the wall. "Right now?" he gasped, a little jarred from the impact.

I glared up at him, fully meeting his eyes. Then I ordered in a soft voice, "Don't move and don't call for help."

The expression in Sam's gaze changed, and he stiffened. "What… wh—why can't I move?" His voice was little more than a whisper, his heart pounding against my hand.

"Because I told you not to," I murmured, shifting in slight discomfort as my fangs came out. He saw the transformation in my face—his eyes filled with terror.

"What the hell _are_ you?"

I licked my lips, pulling him forward slightly and leaning in toward his neck. "I'm a _vampire_ ," I hissed. "And you're my dinner."

His breathing became rushed and shallow when I said the dreaded "v" word out loud. "No—no… oh God, please… don't kill me. I'll do anything. God, I'll do anything!"

"God can't protect you from me," I said, but then became hesitant all of the sudden. Their pleas and cries always had a way of making me feel sorry for them. But I couldn't exactly leave him alive after feeding on him. Mystic Falls had never been a safe place for vampires and if someone found bite marks on him there would be suspicion. I couldn't take the risk of healing it by feeding him my own blood, either. If he ended up dying before it cleared his system, then…

"Look, Sam," I whispered, attempting to hold my breath. "You seem like a decent guy, but I haven't had a drop of blood in two days. I've been trying to hold out… but we vampires… tend to be impatient. Just stay still and relax. It'll only hurt for a minute."

I leaned in again, but he wasn't done trying yet. "No, please! I have a wife—and a son. I need to get home to them… have some compassion!"

I frowned. With his heart rate up to begin with, I couldn't tell if he was lying about the wife and son, or telling the truth. Not that it mattered. It also didn't matter to me why he'd been so willing to sleep with me if he had a family at home. All I wanted was my meal.

And yet, as he stared at me with now much more alert green orbs, guilt bubbled to the surface of my mind. If only circumstances had been different—he'd just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Oh, why did I have to go and talk to him? I should have just compelled him from the beginning and gotten it over with before there was any chance of developing sympathy for him.

With a short sigh of defeat, I grasped his arms, fighting to keep my eyes off his neck. "Fine. Forget this ever happened. Go home."

Sam's eyes glazed over and he simply nodded and turned away from me. I lowered my gaze as he brushed past me and started walking. For a short moment, I simply stared at the ground, listening to his footsteps on the asphalt while he moseyed off as if I didn't exist. After all, he'd forgotten about all of this the moment he took his eyes off me. And yet, the hunter in me couldn't help feeling like he was just teasing me. Just _asking_ me to change my mind and rush after him.

I stayed strong despite the voices in my head telling me otherwise. His footsteps slowly grew fainter as he drew closer to the end of the alley. My mind told me not to do it, but my body moved on its own and I glanced up to turn my head toward him. Even at a distance, I could still hear blood pumping through his veins, despite my attempts to mute it through my ears. I kept telling myself it would all be over soon. I just had to wait another moment, and I wouldn't have to think about him anymore. Just a few more seconds… _just a few more seconds._

A shaky breath rushed into my nose. Just a few more seconds wasn't enough.

I was too damn hungry to walk away.

I licked my lips again, and before my prey reached the edge of the alley, my fangs were at his throat.

…

 _The best part of snatching a meal out of the bar is that there are a gazillion explanations for why someone could go missing after a night of drinking. Sure, the blood tastes like alcohol and there's a lot of usually unnecessary work involved, but it ends up being pretty darn convenient in the end. That man I killed last night will probably never be found, and no one will ever suspect a vampire, because there's no reason to._

 _I think the only loose end here is his supposed family. I hope, if he was telling the truth, that they'll be all right without him. Goodness knows, Stefan would lecture me for an hour if he knew what I did last night. That alone would be a fate worse than death. But, with any luck, he'll never have to know about it. I'll have to stop by the hospital later and swipe a few blood bags so I don't have to kill any more civilians this week. Whether I was careful to cover my tracks or not, it probably wouldn't be beneficial to the town for people to be going missing constantly. Although I guess that stealing blood bags has its own risks added to it. Hopefully I'll be able to find the place. It's been so long and some things have changed since the last time I visited Mystic Falls._

 _You probably think it was stupid of me to come back here. And maybe you're right. Maybe I'm just putting myself at risk. Maybe I'm putting this whole town at risk. But if there's any chance of me seeing Stefan, I need to take it._

 _I miss my friend so much. I miss being—me._

 _And it's far too easy for me to forget what that means, these days. I think I just need to take a rest—a break from all the nonsense. Mystic Falls may be different than it once was, but it is still my home. Maybe spending a few days here will help me refresh a little. One can only hope Stefan won't mind me coming. I wouldn't put it past him to be upset, since it has been a long time since the last time I bothered to contact him. But, well… you know I had some personal issues to deal with._

 _I'm sure he'll understand._

 _Now, Zach, on the other hand… he might not be quite so thrilled to see me…_

* * *

I slammed my journal shut when I heard the door open. And speak of the devil—when I glanced up from my spot on the couch, it was none other than the owner of the house, Zach Salvatore. He took a single look at me, and his eyes seemed to grow about three times bigger.

"Vivian."


	2. Chapter 1: Here We Go

**Hello, all! I am back today with the official chapter 1 of The Vampire Diaries: Blood and Fate. Originally, this was going to be longer, but I decided to cap it around 5,000 words because I usually don't like reading online chapters that are longer than that. I just find it easier to keep stuff a little shorter so I can read a chapter in one sitting and not have to worry about remembering my place and stuff. So, expect chapters not to be much longer than this, and definitely no longer than 6,000.**

 **Anyway, this chapter will introduce some of the main characters in the series and stuff. You should find around this point that this fanfiction is more or less a retelling of the original from the eyes of a different person. However, some events will indeed be altered as a result of Vivian, who you would have met in the prologue. Assuming you are cool with OCs, I hope you like her. I wanted to make her a little snarky and playful without making her as cold and cruel as, say, Katherine or Rebekah can be. Right now, we don't know much about her as a person, but that will hopefully become clearer later.**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries.**

Chapter 1: Here We Go

"Hey, Zach," I said with a friendly smile. Instinctively, I pushed my journal aside and behind a pillow to conceal it from view.

He didn't seem to notice, his face only stoic and unchanging as he spoke. And his voice didn't sound the least bit pleased. "What are you doing here?"

My own smile faded and I rested my head on one of my knees. "Well, gee, it's great to see you, too." When silence fell between us, the air became a bit stiff and uncomfortable. The funny thing about Zach was that he usually had a way of doing that when he entered a room. I still wasn't sure what turned him into such a grouch.

Zach stepped forward, his posture erect as if to show off his rather impressive height, or some kind of stupid representation of his manly dominance. I'll be honest, it didn't suit him. "I thought I told you you shouldn't come back here."

I shrugged. "That was a while ago. And a while ago, Stefan wasn't here." I'd gotten lucky. I hadn't been sure Stefan would be home, but when I arrived earlier I had seen that his room was definitely in use. So I made myself a comfy spot on the sofa and sat down to wait.

"Did he invite you here?" Zach inquired sharply.

"No. I invited myself. It's been a while since I've seen Stefan and I wanted to surprise him."

He shook his head. "I'm already taking my chances with him. I don't need another one around here, too."

"But it's just the two of us!"

"Even one vampire is one too many for this town."

I felt my eyes widen. I wasn't certain whether to be confused or just plain insulted by his statement, considering he basically just slammed my entire species. "Well, then…" I murmured, crossing my arms. "Talk about a sad welcoming committee. I don't mean any harm, Zach."

"No?" He raised an eyebrow and stalked over to the coffee table, just a few feet away from me. "You sure?" With a swift motion, he picked up the daily newspaper and thrust it toward me. On the front page was a news story about two people recently killed after being drained of blood. Fortunately, neither of them were the guy I killed last night.

After a few seconds I cast my gaze up at his. "Are you implying that you think I did this?"

"Did you?"

"Nope. Maybe it was Stefan. You know how he gets."

"Do you honestly think he would have done it?"

I scoffed. "No! Take a joke, Zach. Stefan only eats helpless animals, remember?"

"Well, someone did. And if it wasn't you, and it wasn't Stefan, then who was it?"

I glared at him. "I have no idea, Zach. Maybe there's another vampire in town who has yet to show his or her guilty face."

He shook his head. "You should leave—while you still can."

"Zach, come on. You're so high stress. You know I'll be careful."

Zach let out an irritated sigh and dropped the paper back on the table. "Look, Vivian. This also isn't your house; you can't just come in whenever you want—"

"You did invite me in," I retorted. _Like, a few years ago._

"And I can see that was a mistake," he snapped. "You aren't welcome here."

"Maybe I'll let Stefan decide that," I said. But when his jaw set in anger, I realized I'd overdone it and I mended, "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I usually just tend to think of myself as Stefan's family so it didn't really occur to me. Look, you won't convince me to leave Mystic Falls, but I won't stay in the house if you don't want me to. But please, Zach? Really?" I stood up and faced him, although he towered over me, and I patted his shoulder affectionately. "You know you can trust me, right? If you want—if the killings continue I'll go take care of the problem myself and you'll have nothing to worry about. How does that sound?"

I tried to stay light and cheery in an effort to win him over, quite similarly to the way I accomplished it last time, but it seemed to have little effect on him now. Instead, he just sighed again and shook his head, turning away from me. "Fine. Just stay out of trouble." His voice sounded vaguely defeated, and I knew he was dissatisfied. But I wasn't, so at the moment it didn't particularly bother me as much as it probably should have.

Then, he surprised me by turning back around to face me briefly. His voice was quieter than before as he said, "Mystic Falls isn't safe for vampires anymore and you should know that. It hasn't been since the 1800s. And by being here, you're not only posing a risk to the town, but also to yourself. Someone will get hurt, one way or the other. But I guess nothing I say matters to you vampires."

All I could do was stand silently as he walked out of the room. There was no intelligent response I could offer to such a statement. Was he really that worried about exposure? Vampires hadn't reportedly existed in Mystic Falls for over a century. Vervain didn't even grow here anymore. I would have been surprised if one person in this town had the slightest idea of how to kill a one of us.

Even so, I had no intention of making a spectacle of myself.

 _Who needs Zach's level of negativity, anyway?_

I huffed in mild annoyance, but then sat back down to pull out my journal and continue writing.

* * *

The afternoon came by and Stefan still hadn't returned. By that point I had long since run out of stuff to write and put my journal away, and later I took a tour of the house to see if anything had changed since my last visit. And in fact, it really hadn't. Everything was just about the same as I had left it. Still stuck in the early 20th century like some kind of creepy time capsule. I felt like it couldn't have killed Zach to at least buy a TV for the living room or something.

For a while, I resorted to reading in the library, (I had hundreds of dusty old books to choose from) although I had already read most of them. And after I grew tired of that, I even went upstairs to one of the many bedrooms to unpack my small duffle bag. That wouldn't take me too long since I only had some pairs of clothes and a tooth brush. I was accustomed to traveling light.

But as I opened the bag, I paused for a moment, considering perhaps it wasn't the best idea to make myself at home just yet. Although I had received Zach's reluctant blessing, this was all about Stefan and I couldn't just bulldoze my way into his life without permission. Not that I expected that he would reject me, but as a house guest it was primarily my responsibility to show a little common courtesy. And with that in mind, I left the duffle bag on the bed to save unpacking for later.

At that point, there was nothing in the house left for me to stick my hands into, so I finally gave in and decided to get out of the house for a while. Who knew? Maybe I would even run into Stefan somewhere. It wouldn't be as exciting of a surprise that way, but I supposed it didn't really matter in the end.

My walk was mostly uneventful, but it did help me get reacquainted with the town on a nice day. And it was certainly less dull than sitting in the house while Zach brooded silently in his room.

 _Must be a Salvatore thing._

Along my way, I made a quick stop by the hospital, but didn't dare enter in broad daylight while so many people were going in and out. I was already feeling a bit peckish since my last meal, but I couldn't be rash about it. Good things come to those who wait, after all.

Instead, I went to the Mystic Grill and bought a swiss chicken sandwich with a side of fries and barbecue sauce for a little bit of comfort. And in the moment it was probably the best thing I'd ever eaten. Although I had to admit, human food in general had gotten tastier and tastier over the years since I was young. Back then, luxuries like meats and spices were rarely within my reach. Nowadays, I liked chowing down on my pepperoni pizza with cake and icecream. One step closer to becoming a modern woman.

On the way back to the house after a quite satisfying yet not very filling meal, I took my time. Although I had just eaten, when I passed the local grocery store, a bright idea came to mind. And in a flash (well, not literally, since I was in public) I entered the store and meandered around until I had some items picked out for dinner. Steak salads were fairly easy and didn't take long. Not only would it be something nice to do for Stefan, but it would also be my first step in an effort to make up for the lost time between us. Plus, maybe feeding Zach would get me back on his good side.

On the way back to the house, I resolved not to take any more detours and keep on track. I didn't run, not even once I had the safety of the trees to cover me, because I had the strangest feeling that I was being watched. It was so vague that I thought perhaps it was just my imagination, but I didn't want to take any chances of being spotted by the wrong person at the wrong time.

Behind closed doors, I relaxed and was able to move freely and easily toward the kitchen with my bag, where I saw Zach, leisurely eating a bowl of cereal.

I glared at him. "Really? I brought dinner, you know."

He swallowed a mouthful. "Well, I'm sorry, you didn't tell me you were going to do that. I wasn't expecting that you planned to be cook, today."

"It's for Stefan," I said. "But was going to make some for you, too."

"Speaking of Stefan," Zach said with a sigh and a gesture of his spoon, "He's upstairs."

I couldn't resist the smile that spread across my face. "Really? Yes!" Then, although I knew Zach was about to say something else, I interrupted him with an, "I'll be right back," and rushed up the stairs until I was just down the hall from his room.

I tried to be quiet as I crept toward the still open door, silently praying that he would be happy to see me. And when I peered inside, I saw him, his back facing me from his desk. He appeared to be writing in his journal, as always. So I guessed not that much had changed.

"You still keeping all your deepest, most broody thoughts in that journal?" I asked, a smile tugging at my lips once again.

The elder vampire paused mid-sentence and turned his head, revealing to me a pair of shocked hazel eyes. "Vivian?" his voice was quiet, as if he didn't believe he was seeing me at first.

I stepped further into the room and held up my hand in a short wave. "Hey, pal."

There was another short pause, but Stefan recovered fairly quickly and a genuine smile spread across his cheeks. "Oh, Vivian, I can't believe it." He stood up abruptly and met me half way, enveloping me in the biggest, warmest hug I'd in decades. "You're here, oh God, you're here," he laughed, joined by my own laughter as he lifted me effortlessly off the floor and spun me around. When he set me down, I stepped back a little so I could look at him, but he kept his hands on my arms. "Vivian, ah, I can't believe it," he repeated. "It's been so long. What, twenty-four years?"

"Twenty-five, actually," I said. "I know, I know, I'm so sorry I haven't kept in touch. I hope you aren't upset with me."

"No, no, no, of course not," Stefan assured me, shaking his head. "It's okay—I mean, I've been worried about you, but… I knew you were fine up to a few years ago at least when I got that letter."

"Letter?"

"Yeah, the one you gave to Zach. He got it to me; it was a relief to hear from you—"

"Oh, _that_ letter!" I interrupted as the light bulb went off. "I forgot about that—I wasn't even sure Zach would be able to get it to you. I'll have to thank him."

Stefan nodded, still with a half smile on his face. "So—you're here, now. What brings you to Mystic Falls?"

"You, of course!" I said. "It's been so long and I had some personal issues I needed to deal with—alone. But recently things have been looking up—I hope you'll let me stay, at least for a while."

Stefan squeezed my arm. "Oh, yeah, you know you're welcome here. Or—you ran it by Zach, right?"

I nodded. "He's cool with it. So… guess I can unpack."

"Guess you can."

I chuckled and did a short fist pump. " _Yes._ No worries, I will be a model house guest. In fact, I already brought dinner home for you."

"Dinner?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Uh—Well, not _that_ kind of dinner. I wanted to make salads for us as an apology for staying away so long."

"Ah, you didn't need to do that."

"Oh, I know, but I did anyway. I think Zach is going to be a grump as usual, but you and I can eat together if you want."

For whatever reason, since I mentioned the food he seemed a little hesitant, and as he waggled back and forth for a minute to think of an answer I simply stared at him.

"Well… uh…"

"What, do you have some other engagement?" I asked, wishing he would just tell me instead of worrying about hurting my poor little feelings.

But instead, he shook his head, "Actually, no. Nothing important. I would love to have dinner with you. And I'll help make the salads."

As he started guiding me toward the door, I glared at him over my shoulder. "Don't you trust me?"

"Mm, not after you set the stove on fire in the seventies."

"That was one time, like a bajillion years ago," I dismissed, quite disturbed at his lack of faith. "And anyway, the only thing in need of actual cooking is the steak. It's just salad."

Nevertheless, Stefan insisted on helping me with dinner. While Zach retreated up to his room to do whatever Zach did in his spare time, Stefan and I spent almost an hour in the kitchen making salad and catching up on each others' lives. It was nice to have someone to talk and laugh with for a change.

But after we finished and it was time to sit down and eat, Stefan told me he had somewhere to be.

"I won't be long, I just forgot I have to return something."

"It can't wait?" I asked, wondering what in the world was so important.

"No, I didn't realize how late it was getting," he said. "Really, I promise. Just give me a half hour and I'll be back."

I raised my eyebrows at him and sighed. "Fine, if you're okay with either reheating the steak or eating it cold…"

"That's fine. I won't be long, okay?" And he was gone in a flash.

* * *

Well, after a half hour passed, Stefan had not returned. And I continued to wait impatiently for another fifteen minutes or so, until Zach appeared and I convinced him to eat my salad. I wasn't exactly in the spirit, anymore.

I'd been ditched. On my first day back to Mystic Falls, my only friend had ditched me. Come to think of it, Stefan had seemed a bit off when we talked about having dinner together, as if there was something else he had to take care of this evening. But if that was the case, why didn't he just tell me about it? What was the big deal?

Finally, I gave up and told Zach I was going out. I took a quick but thorough tour through town, hoping I might find him somewhere, but since I had no idea what was in his head right now I wasn't sure where might be the best place to look.

Luckily, I made a stop by the Mystic Grill, which admittedly seemed to be the most popular spot in town. I hadn't really expected to see him there, but by golly, when I glanced in the doorway, Stefan was inside. And to my great surprise, he was sitting at a table, surrounded by a group of high school girls.

 _What in the world…?_

Across from him sat one with blonde, girly hair—to his right, a pretty petite one with dark hair—and then…

It was the one to his left that would have made me spit out my drink if I had one. _Holy smackerel._

I knew the instant that I saw her, it couldn't be true. There was no way she was the same girl in his picture, the one he'd told me stories about. The one he'd fallen in love with in 1864. She was dead, wasn't she? At least, that's what Stefan told me.

No. Maybe it was nothing more than a mistake on my part. Having only seen Katherine Pierce in a single photograph, it was reasonable that I didn't have a vivid picture of her in my head. Perhaps this girl sitting with him at the table simply happened to look _similar_ to Katherine and that was causing me the confusion. That had to be it. If it wasn't, then I had to accept either that Stefan's manipulative, lying dead girlfriend was alive _or_ that he'd found a new one that looked exactly like her.

I wasn't quite sure which was worse.

For a few moments, I stayed where I was to listen to the conversation:

"So, you were born in Mystic Falls?" the blonde girl asked, all smiles and candy hearts.

Stefan nodded. "I moved away when I was still young."

"Parents?" the dark-haired girl prompted.

There was a brief interval of silence in the group before Stefan spoke, as if he had to think of a suitable answer. But after a couple seconds he settled for, "My parents passed away, actually."

More silence.

"I'm—sorry," the girl who looked like Katherine said, her voice soft and sullen. "Siblings?"

"None that I talk to," Stefan replied. "I, uh, live with my uncle." He sounded so awkward when he spoke that it was almost painful for me to listen. I wasn't sure if he was doing that on purpose or—well, Stefan had never been the best liar.

At that point, I decided to ditch my role as creepy fly on the wall and strode toward the group casually.

"Oh hey, Stefan!" I exclaimed, moving in behind the blonde girl and causing all the color to drain from my friend's cheeks. "Fancy seeing you, here, hm?"

The three girls glanced back and forth between us curiously as Stefan struggled to find an appropriate answer. "Oh—Vivian. Uh…"

"I had no idea you'd become such a ladies' man since I last saw you," I continued. "Although I guess you always did get along better with girls than guys."

"Right. Well—"

"Oh, sorry, I haven't properly introduced myself. I'd hate to be rude. 'Sup, Stefan's crew. I'm Vivian."

"Yeah, she's my—"

"Elder cousin," I interrupted easily. "He and I were good friends as kids. Hey, mind if I join you?"

"Uh, not at all," the girl who looked like Katherine said, being the first of the girls to speak to me.

I grinned and pulled up a chair between Stefan and the dark-haired girl. Ignoring Stefan's now tense posture, I looked around at the girls. "So… you are?"

"I'm Bonnie," the girl next to me said with a genuinely sweet smile on her face. Then, gesturing to the Katherine look-alike, "That's Elena." _Ah… so, definitely some kind of crazy magical voodoo going on there._ "And this is—"

"Caroline," the blonde girl said, also with a smile. Only, hers didn't appear genuine at all. In fact, I got the vibe that something about my presence had irritated her.

But Bonnie, the one I'd already decided I liked for some reason, immediately shifted the tone and asked, "Stefan didn't tell us about you. Are you living with Zach Salvatore, too?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I was away from Mystic Falls for a while, like Stefan. Zach's also my uncle, though, so the Boarding House is practically my home."

"Are you still in high school?" Elena asked.

"Graduated two years ago. I spent my last few years of school out of town, but I have to come back home to check on my little cousin every once in a while. Guess he doesn't need me much anymore, though, since he's ditching me for his friends."

Elena's lips parted in mild surprise. "Oh… um… I didn't realize—"

I laughed. "Ah, sorry. No worries, I'm just joking around. I'm glad Stefan's making friends. He's always been a bit of a loner."

Bonnie smiled. "Well, I could believe that."

At this point, Stefan was doing that thing again where he tapped his fingers on the table signaling that he was getting uncomfortable, and I reached down and patted his knee affectionately to try to ease him up. _God, he's almost as bad as Zach._ Granted, maybe I was trying just a little to mess with him.

"So," Bonnie went on with her fist holding up her cheek. "Are you planning on going to the party, tomorrow, Stefan? Elena's gonna be there."

" _Bonnie_ ," Caroline hissed. "Don't talk about it right now in front of…" Her eyes flicked toward me and back to Bonnie's in an instant. I felt my own eyes narrow in distaste. _What a bitch._

"Caroline…" Bonnie sighed in annoyance, glaring at her critically.

"Hey, no problem," I said, holding up my hands innocently. "I'm not out to ruin the fun. Honest. If you think I'm going to be the responsible, adulty buzzkiller, you are sorely mistaken."

Caroline's cold expression changed slightly and with a subtle flip of her hair, she said, "Oh. Well then in that case, maybe you should come, too. As long as you aren't planning on ratting us out."

I shook my head. "Like I said… not at all. And I'd be happy to go if you guys don't mind."

"Great," Caroline offered in a clipped tone, not sounding in the least bit interested. "Stefan? How about you?"

The corner of his mouth turned up a bit. "Well…"

I nudged him. "Yes, you're going. Right?"

"Uh… I…" Then, without casting me a glance, he turned his head toward Elena. "Uh, Bonnie said you were going, right?"

"Yes, of course, she is," Bonnie cut in, almost presumptuously.

Elena, on the other hand, didn't seem to have much to add, only brushing her hair back and smiling shyly at Stefan.

So, even though Caroline did not seem in the least interested about whether or not I showed up at the party, Bonnie insisted. Which I supposed meant all five of us had a full schedule the next night. Yet, I couldn't help somehow feeling that there would be a lot of drama taking place at this little shindig. The main reason being a certain petty teen girl who clearly wanted and wasn't receiving Stefan's attention. God, I hoped Stefan just turned her down and got it over with before things got ugly.

After everyone was done socializing for the night, I allowed Stefan to be a gentleman and walk Elena home, but the very instant I met up with him again, I pounced.

"Look, I'm sorry," Stefan said guiltily. "I didn't mean to ditch you. I just got caught up and lost track of time."

"Gazing into Elena's eyes, no doubt," I replied, although it wasn't really Stefan ditching me that had my interest at the present moment. "You know, I am trying so hard not to judge you right now."

"I know—"

"Why does she look like Katherine?" I demanded, stepping in front of him, my hand almost touching his chest. "Because I'm not just imagining it. She's like, some sort of replica—"

"Vivian, I don't know, okay?" he exasperated, tossing his shoulders. "She's just—I don't know. I'm drawn to her. I can't help it." He brushed my aside lightly and started walking again, until I turned to glare at him.

"Well, start _trying_ to help it, Stefan," I told him. "She looks exactly like your girlfriend from _1864_. You can't possibly—"

He spun around before I was able to finish and pointed to me, almost accusingly. "I'm not going to argue with you about my love life, Vivian. But let me just make one thing clear, if you have any doubts: Elena is _not_ Katherine. I'm not foolish enough to make that mistake again."

"Oh, well, that just makes everything fine and dandy, doesn't it?" I snapped sarcastically. Someone had to explain to him how ridiculously unreasonable he was acting. "She is a human being, you know. If you fall in love with her, do you really think you can handle the whole package? You can't expect to have a future if you don't tell her what you are. And when she finds out? How can you guarantee she'll accept that?"

"I can't," he said.

"So, what are you going to do? Compel her to like your fangs and animalistic urges? Ooh. Maybe you'll get lucky and she's just looking for someone like Edward Cullen to come along and sweep her off her feet."

"Vivian, please, just stop."

"You're right. It's more likely she'll run screaming 'vampire' through town and you'll have no choice but to compel her. Which I know you hate doing, by the way. But mind you, once you get yourself into that mess, you won't be crying to me to do the dirty work for you."

"Shut up!" Stefan snapped, teeth barred. "I don't want to hear it. I don't need your lecturing, not when I've dealt just fine without it for the last twenty-five years."

I shut my mouth then, the mild sting of his words seeping in. In that moment, I realized that perhaps I had gone a bit too far, even though I'd only meant to prevent him from making a mistake. As his friend, it would normally be my job to call him out on crap. But he was right this time; that wasn't my call to make. Especially when I didn't even know the whole story. Especially… when I hadn't even been there for him as a friend in years. Coming to a stop and folding my arms across my chest, I murmured, "Now, there's the resentment I've been looking for."

All of the sudden, guilt seemed to flood Stefan's eyes and he shook his head heavily. A low sigh escaped his lips. "Vivian… I'm sorry. That's not—at all what I meant. I know you needed space…"

"No, no," I said, "You're right. I've been a bad friend. I accept that. I was just—being over-protective and crossed the line. I shouldn't have pushed you so much. So—I should be the one apologizing instead."

"I know you're just looking out for me," Stefan said. "But I know the risks. I didn't make this decision without thinking of all the ways it could go wrong. I just—I need to know her, Vivian. I can't live the rest of my life having passed up that opportunity, even if it ends badly."

I didn't agree with his choice. Not even a little. Yes, he had considered the possibility that inserting his way into Elena's life could end in disaster. The difference between the two of us was that I didn't see how it _couldn't_ end in disaster. But perhaps I was just letting old wounds get in the way. Maybe this would be good for him. Either way, changing his mind was impossible. Stefan would make his own choices no matter what I had to say about them.

Finally, I granted him a slow nod. "Fine. Then I suppose, if you are so determined, I will try my very best to support you. If Elena is important to you… then, she's important to me." Then, with a dry smile, "I hope it works out somehow, Stefan."

He stuffed his hands lazily into his pockets. "I've been trying to focus less on the future lately. More on the present. It's easier that way."

I skipped ahead to catch up with his stride and said, "Well… if that's how you feel, I guess we're starting with that party tomorrow. We're still going, right?" I wasn't really the party type, but it certainly wasn't as boring as staying inside all night and day.

He huffed, but I could tell by his tone that he was already over our argument. "Only if you promise not to embarrass me again."

Nudging his arm lightly, I said, "It's what I live for, cuz." And although I still had my doubts about Stefan's new group of friends, particularly Elena, I temporarily let the issue rest for the sake of the peace. Whatever troubles came our way, I just wanted to enjoy the time I had with him.

 _Pretend life is simple… just for a little while._


	3. Chapter 2: The Party

**Hello, everyone! Welcome to chapter 2 of The Vampire Diaries: Blood and Fate. This chapter is called "The Party," since it mostly covers the party where Stefan and Elena really get to connect for the first time. Here, we have Vivian getting to know some of the other characters and then finding out that there's another vampire in Mystic Falls. This chapter isn't as long as the last one, but I had fun with it.**

 **You know, I was thinking... since writing this, I've been watching a lot of the earlier seasons of the show. Is there anyone else out there who really just misses the old Vampire Diaries? I have nothing against the newer stuff, but I feel like there was really something special about the first three seasons in particular. I think the first episode ever that I didn't enjoy was a late season 3 episode in which *spoiler Alaric gets turned into a psycho vampire by Klaus's mom.***

 **In any case, for whatever reason, my interest in the show declined a bit in the next few seasons. I miss the old days where my 12-13 year old self would wait eagerly for every Thursday at 8 pm to watch my favorite show :( It was just so much more magical to me back then, and I'm enjoying revisiting season 1.**

 **Anyway, sorry for the little rant there. Hope you find some enjoyment in the chapter and thanks for reading!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries.**

Chapter 2: The Party

The party was in the woods. Or, at least it was very close to the woods. And somehow, I wasn't particularly surprised. For the most part, it was just a bunch of kids drinking, dancing, and socializing within a tiny, isolated energy bubble of nuttiness. Typical teenagers.

"You know, you didn't have to come," Stefan told me as we walked together.

I tsked in disapproval. He had the nerve to try to get rid of me? Ha. "You think I would miss your first high school party? I am fired up for this, believe me."

Stefan cast me a skeptical glance. "But you don't even like to drink."

"Sometimes I do. If I'm in the mood. And besides, who said I have to drink?" Truthfully, the main reason I came at all was to watch out for Stefan. Not that he couldn't take care of himself in theory, but I was interested in getting to know the people he had decided to surround himself with since integrating into high school.

I paused when I caught wind of a familiar voice somewhere nearby. "Oh, just admit it, Elena!"

"Okay, fine. So he's—a little pretty."

"He has that romance novel stare."

I smirked up at Stefan, who also appeared to be listening in on Bonnie and Elena's conversation. "Romance novel stare," I snickered, causing him to roll his eyes. "I think I'm about to die, right now."

"Okay, ha ha… hilarious," Stefan said as I laughed to his obvious discomfort. "All right, it's not _that_ funny."

"Wait, wait." I held my hand up between chuckles. "Just—just give me a minute. Romance novel stare, ha… hey, I bet I could do that, too." Then, taking a few deep breaths to calm my laughter, I lifted my head to stare into Stefan's eyes as intensely as possible. He said nothing, but kept his gaze locked on mine with mild exhaustion until I cracked and started laughing again. He let out a long sigh and I didn't manage to compose myself until a certain bouncy blonde girl appeared in front of us, dulling my giddy mood.

"Hey, you made it!" Caroline said with a large grin.

Stefan smiled back cordially. "We did."

He pointedly included me in his statement, but Caroline clearly wasn't interested in me. I was just the weird relative of her future husband, after all. "Well then, let's get you a drink."

Stefan opened his mouth slightly, as if unsure how to refuse without hurting the poor girl's feelings. At this point, in his shoes I wondered why he even cared. "Well, I'm—"

"Oh, come on." Caroline was not giving up. Probably not to save her life.

So I decided it was time for an intervention.

"You know what?" I said, straightening my back and approaching Caroline. "I could really go for a drink. Why don't you take me, Caroline?" I cast Stefan a glance as I looped the girl's arm with mine and began leading her toward the drinks.

Obviously, I didn't expect even her to be dumb enough to fall for that. "But—wait, what about—"

When she turned around, Stefan was gone. "What? Where'd he…?"

I shrugged as she scanned around for him in her confusion. "Well, you know, Stefan can be kinda flighty. Here one minute, gone the next. Nothing personal, believe me. Why don't we go get that drink?"

Caroline looked around for a few more seconds, but then seemed to give up. "Right. Of course, let's go!" The smile on her face was not in the least bit genuine. Perhaps she was finally taking the hint. There was a tiny part of me that wanted to tell her she had no chance (because Stefan was only attracted to dopplegangers of his dead lovers.) But that wasn't really my place, and after all, despite my dark thoughts, I wasn't _that_ mean.

Caroline and I walked together by the drinks, where the girl I recognized as Bonnie and another boy I didn't recognize at all stood casually.

"You came!" Bonnie said as I grabbed a drink.

"Sure did," I replied, with only half interest as I subtly took a sniff of my drink before bravely gulping a sip. I hated beer.

"She came with Stefan," Caroline said, obviously trying not to sound too insulted as she fumbled with her own cup. "But he kinda just disappeared. Oh, well. More for us, I guess." She flashed a toothy smile.

Bonnie glanced around for a few seconds, her eyes alert. Then, spotting something of interest, which just happened to be Stefan and Elena, she began, "Oh, hey, isn't that…" But she trailed off as I dragged my index finger across my throat and (thankfully) changed the subject. If Stefan was so determined to get to know this girl, the last thing I wanted was for someone to say or do something to ruin it. I'd even been refraining from listening in on them out of courtesy.

"Vivian, have you met Matt?" Bonnie asked, gesturing to the boy beside her.

For the first time, I scanned this person fully, who had been rather quiet since I walked up. He was a handsome teenaged boy, albeit not at all my type, with a pretty-boy head of blonde hair and eyes the shade of a lovely broody blue. About the same height as Stefan but a bit more muscular-looking, he had the body of someone who played contact sports. Maybe football.

I made sure my examination took not an instant too long, and I shook my head gently. "No, I don't think so. It's nice to meet you." He looked like a hand-shaking sort of guy, so I held out my arm to him in an attempt at a friendly gesture. Although he didn't seem particularly enthused, he took my tiny hand in his big one and granted me a small smile.

"Yeah, same here."

I pulled my hand away and turned my gaze back toward Bonnie. "So… You guys are all childhood friends, huh? Must be nice. Other than Stefan, I didn't really make a whole lot of long-standing relationships as a kid." _Ick. Sooo not good at small-talk with regular human beings._

"We've gone to school together for a long time," Bonnie said.

"Of course," Caroline interrupted cheerily. "Just like family."

Bonnie asked, "I don't think you mentioned—does the rest of your family live around here?"

"Oh, no," I shook my head. "Not anymore. They live pretty far away. We, uh, haven't spoken for a while. I was always the fun child, in my opinion, but they didn't always think so."

"So—you mean you don't speak to your parents?" Bonnie said, with slight hesitance in her tone.

"No. Not really. It's—well, I guess I hate to say it's complicated. But it's all right. I get along just fine." I took another swig of my drink, trying not to make a face at the bitter taste. Come to think of it, I wasn't sure why I was bothering to drink this stuff in the first place. Perhaps I was making too much of an effort to appear normal in front of the crowd.

"Ugh, why is he talking to her?" Caroline growled, causing me to turn my head and realize that she was now watching Stefan and Elena in the distance. As she grumbled in irritation, I noticed she'd already put down several drinks. She looked as if she might just stalk over and break them up immediately, but I cleared my throat to get her attention.

"Caroline, I wouldn't do that."

She spun around and glared at me with raised eyebrows. "Do I look like I need your romantic advice?"

I scratched the back of my neck briefly. "Well, actually…"

Bonnie laughed. "Caroline, just leave them be. You'll get your chance later."

"Exactly," I agreed. "You can't just walk up now and expect everything to go your way. You have to wait until he's alone, and then pounce. Because it's only then that you'll have his full attention."

It was at that moment that I noticed that the boy, Matt, had slipped away without me noticing, and I supposed he either had to be shy or pining over something. Caroline, on the other hand, seemed displeased but still hopeful that she had a chance with Stefan.

 _Poor girl._

A moment later, I saw Stefan abruptly turn and leave Elena's side, which signaled to me that something must have made him uncomfortable. Of course, as a vampire who resisted human blood for survival, it didn't seem unreasonable that he would have a weak moment here and there. Just one more reason I thought him falling for a human girl was a horrible idea. But I'd made a vow to keep my mouth shut, so by golly, I would do just that until he proved he couldn't handle it.

Caroline took her opportunity with more enthusiasm than I would have thought possible, despite how many drinks she'd guzzled. "Ha! There he goes! Wish me luck, ladies."

"Good luck," Bonnie and I said simultaneously, our voices equally lukewarm in tone. And after she was gone, we laughed.

"Poor Caroline," she said with a sigh. "I want to encourage her, but I'll hate to see her get disappointed."

I shrugged. "She—seems like the pretty resilient type."

"Well, you'd probably be right about that."

With a short laugh, I leaned back on my heels. I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was something I really liked about this girl. "So, I guess as long as it's just us… I told you a little about me. Tell me something about you."

"Hm…" She pondered for a moment. "Well, I live with my grandmother most of the time, Sheila Bennett."

I froze. _Oh._ After the short pause, I shifted my weight to avoid showing my surprise. "Bennett, huh?"

"Yeah." Bonnie cocked her head slightly. "Is something weird about that?"

Shaking my head, I told her, "No, not really. I didn't realize that was your surname. I just—I've heard there's some history surrounding the Bennetts in Mystic Falls."

The smile that followed held a hint of shyness. "Ha, yeah… There's some interesting stories, for sure."

I picked up on her reluctance and said, "I—I'm sorry, does that make you uncomfortable? I wasn't trying to pry. I was just curious, is all."

"No, it's fine," she said with an awkward chuckle. "It's not a big deal. I just—some people would think it's weird. My grandmother tells me we're descended from witches. Pretty crazy, huh?"

"Well, I've heard crazier," I teased lightly. "Actually, I think it's cool. Witches—like, from Salem, right? Definitely unusual, but not _that_ crazy. At least you wouldn't have to worry about getting burned at the stake, anymore."

Bonnie grinned. "Well, luckily, it's just folklore… nothing to be taken too seriously, right? Oh, hey, I like your ring."

Surprised by the sudden attention brought to my daylight ring, my hand flew to my neck, where the ring hung gently from a silver chain. "Oh… yeah, my Lapis ring. I wear it all the time."

"Did someone give it to you?"

"Um… sort of. It belonged to an old—boyfriend of mine. I've been wearing it since he died a while back."

Her eyes widened and she shook her head a little. "Oh—God, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"No worries," I assured her. "I don't talk about him much, but the ring makes me feel like he's—still here, in a way."

Bonnie still seemed visibly upset at having brought up the topic, despite my efforts to put her at ease. But after a few seconds of silence between us, she gave me a nod. "Well… it is a really nice ring." With delicate fingers, she reached out to touch the band as if to get a better look, but all of the sudden she froze in place. I watched carefully, now rather confused, as Bonnie recoiled her hand as if I'd slapped it away, fear transparent in her eyes.

I frowned. "Uh… hey, are you all right, Bonnie?"

At the sound of my voice, the girl recovered enough to form words on her lips and said, "Oh, y-yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that. Um… You know what? I—I'll be right back, 'kay?"

"Um… okay…" I murmured as she brushed past me, deserting me at the drink table.

 _And then there was—one._

In that moment, the depressing reality occurred to me that I had been abandoned by three people within the last twenty minutes. And the last one had me genuinely concerned. Something frightened Bonnie before she left. And I knew that whatever it was happened when she touched my ring. I didn't know a great deal about the full capabilities of witches, but if this particular Bennett witch lived up to her name, perhaps it was a better idea to avoid her. A shame, really, since I actually sort of liked Bonnie.

Figuring that despite her words, Bonnie probably wasn't coming back, I let out a sigh and threw my drink in the trash. Then I decided to look around for Stefan, who I found near the edge of the woods with little effort. He was with Elena, but I noticed after I got closer that she appeared to be walking away from him, toward the trees.

"Trust me, you aren't going to want to witness this," I heard her tell him before trudging into the woods.

Out of curiosity, I headed over to Stefan, who had an expression of concern on his face. "What's up?" I asked, coming to a halt beside him. "Everything okay?"

He nodded, although he seemed rather unsure. "Her brother, Jeremy, is just dealing with a little trouble, I think. How'd you handle the crowd?"

"Not so bad. I'm sorry I couldn't keep Caroline's attention for long," I said. "She was desperate to get to you. I got to meet a pretty puppy dog-eyed, anti-social jock named Matt, though. I hit it off with Bonnie Bennett. Then I officially scared her off. But I guess you could call it a decent success, all things—considered." I paused and tilted my head back a few centimeters. Taking a sharp, inward breath, I murmured, "Stefan… do you smell that?"

"What?" he asked.

I frowned off the direction Elena had disappeared. "Blood."

He turned his gaze in the same direction, his jaw set as he confirmed my suspicions. As he took a step forward, he began, "Maybe, I'd better—"

But I held my arm out to stop him and started forward instead. "I'll go. You aren't used to human blood. It's safer." And before he had time to argue with my offer, I took off as quickly as I could into the woods without showing off my vampire speed. The darkness descended as I ventured further into the trees, but I kept my senses sharp for danger. Not too far away, I could hear the voices of Elena and her brother, and the scent of human blood drew nearer.

"I don't wanna hear it!" the boy snarled from a distance.

"Yeah, well, too bad!" Elena retorted.

Afterward, I thought I heard the sound of someone tripping. And then came the scream. I forced myself past the forest brush and gave myself just a tiny extra boost of speed before coming to a full stop behind Elena. "Oh, God, Vicki!" the boy cried as he seemingly hovered over someone's unmoving body. "No, please, no!"

"What's going on here?" I demanded, causing Elena to turn.

"Vivian," she said, her voice trembling with fear. "God, I—I don't know. Jer—Jeremy, come on! We need to get her out of here so we can call 9-1-1." She didn't waste any time, running over to him to get the girl Elena's brother had called Vicki. Elena, despite being disoriented and frightened, thought to check her pulse. I listened for a few seconds through my own ears and found a faint heartbeat and some shallow breaths. The girl was still alive.

And yet when I approached her to help Elena and Jeremy carry her out of the woods, I saw the splatter of blood painting her neck, and I knew this had been no accident. Another vampire had been in these woods tonight.

But at the moment I focused on the task at hand, which included exercising patience with the snail-paced maneuvering of my companions. Had I been alone, I could have thrown this girl over my shoulder and been out of the woods in seconds. But I wasn't, and therefore had to use the normal, much less convenient human method.

Soon enough, however, we emerged at the party that abruptly seemed to stop at the sound of Elena's cries for help. Everyone gathered around and numerous people were taking out their cell phones to call for an ambulance. Immediately, I ran toward Stefan who couldn't seem to pull his horror-filled gaze away from Vicki.

"So there was another vampire, after all," I said. "It's not just us."

"I think I know who it is," Stefan muttered, putting a hand on my shoulder and turning toward me. I waited curiously for him to continue, but he didn't quite give me the answer I was looking for. "I have to go. I need you to stay here until everyone's gone to make sure no one else gets hurt. Can you do that?" He didn't wait for an answer before lowering his hand and turning briskly to leave.

"But—Stefan, aren't you going to—ah… okay. Right. Yeah, I can totally do that. No problem. You just—go do your thing." I threw my arms up in the air as he retreated from the crowd, and huffed in annoyance. The fact that he was leaving me out of the loop felt like a major disappointment. And once he was gone, I had nothing left to do but abide by his request and hang around until help had come and gone.

So, after Vicki left in an ambulance and the majority of people were filing out, I stopped briefly to listen as I approached a tense Elena and Bonnie.

"We're going to Mainline Coffee to wait for news," Bonnie said.

Elena rubbed her shoulders with shaky fingers. "I've—gotta take Jeremy home."

In response Bonnie nodded, but then after a second of hesitation added, "Elena… there's no way I'm psychic. I know that. But—whatever I saw, or… think I saw. I have this feeling…"

There was a pause.

"Bonnie, what?" Elena asked, alarm lacing her tone.

Bonnie shook her head. "That it's just the beginning."

 _Wow. I hope she isn't talking about me._

I swallowed, a hint of nervousness creeping up my back as I etched her words into memory. Psychic or not, there was something darn scary about her. But after everything that happened, I was already ninety-nine percent sure that she definitely had the blood of a Bennett witch. Meaning I didn't want to be on her bad side. As a vampire, if there was anything more intimidating than a stronger vampire, it was a witch.

After composing myself, I straightened my shoulders and walked over to the two girls. "Hey, are you guys all right?"

Elena smiled a little. "Oh, Vivian… yeah, we're fine. Just a little—shaken up, I think."

Bonnie still seemed nervous about my presence, but she still looked me in the eye and managed to smile. "We're okay. Are—did you want to go to Mainline Coffee with me and some of the others? Or…"

"You probably shouldn't go home by yourself," Elena added.

"Eh," I said, making a dismissive gesture with my hand. "I'll be careful. I should really be getting home. Make sure Stefan's okay. But thank you for the offer. And… for the concerns. I won't be going off alone in the woods, that's for sure." I laughed shortly.

"Right," Elena said, and then reinforced, "Well, please be careful."

"Promise," I replied, flashing a smile and offering a small wave to Bonnie before taking my leave. Or at least, pretended to take my leave, since I wasn't allowed to go home until everyone else was gone.

But as soon as the party area had emptied out, I ran back home immediately to find—not Stefan. I walked through the door and found a groggy Zach downstairs in his pajamas, asking me if I'd heard a crash a little bit ago. I told him I hadn't, but ran upstairs with a negative feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Stefan!" I called, checking through the hallways until I got to his room. The door was open. His journal was sitting on his desk as usual, his bed made, and everything else seemed entirely normal. The only thing out of place was the window. As I made my way toward it, I realized the glass had been completely smashed, as if it had been body slammed. There was broken glass on the floor, and when I peered out, more sat in the grass below. I'd walked into the aftermath of a vampire brawl.

But if that was the case, where in the hell was Stefan?


	4. Chapter 3: Damon Salvatore

**Hello, everyone, and welcome to chapter three of The Vampire Diaries: Blood and Fate. I wasn't expecting to get through this chapter so quickly, but... I was really excited about writing it, so... here it is. This is the first chapter to introduce Damon Salvatore, my favorite TVD character of all 3 Oh, Ian Somerhalder, you are phenomenal.**

 **In any case, I hope you find some enjoyment in this new chapter and thanks for reading!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries.**

Chapter 3: Damon Salvatore

" _Damon Salvatore?_ " My voice came out more loudly than I'd expected as I gaped at Stefan in disbelief. "Your older brother? Why would he be in Mystic Falls?"

Stefan ran his fingers through his hair, exhaling in frustration. "I don't know. I don't know what he wants. Although I guess I wouldn't put it past him to come back here just to torture me."

We were in the living room, and as Stefan paced back and forth, I plopped down in a chair. "Is he really that bad, Stefan?"

" _Yes_ , Vivian. I've told you before. He's—for lack of a better word, he's a monster."

I'd never met Damon, but I'd heard plenty of horror stories about him from Stefan over the years. When Stefan told me he thought he knew who was behind the attacks, I never would have imagined this. I spent at least an hour after getting back to the house trying tirelessly to reach him, until he finally returned after a lovely evening chat with Elena. At first I was furious with him for making me worry, but once he told me about his brother—well, let's just say my interest shifted. Now it was past midnight, Damon was who-knows-where, and Stefan was losing his mind.

"So," I began, "What are you gonna do about him?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know, Damon is… I can't match him. He's too strong for me."

"Because you only drink animal blood."

"There has to be some other way to get rid of him… before he causes any more damage…"

"Or maybe we could just let him be and everything will be fine."

He stopped and turned toward me. "And let more innocent people die? Is that okay with you?"

"Look," I said, "I'm just saying maybe if we don't provoke him it will minimize the damage. I don't know the guy, but—"

"No," Stefan interrupted decisively. "Damon isn't like that. He'll go out of his way to wreak the most havoc possible as long as it will hurt me. I've told you he promised me an eternity of misery. And Damon rarely breaks his promises."

"Maybe there's another reason he's here."

He laughed humorlessly. "And even if there was, he would just play games to try to mess with my head."

"Stefan, you're doing it again."

"Doing what?"

"Being a pessimist."

He glared at me. "You don't know what Damon's like, Vivian."

"No, I really don't," I agreed, standing up and stuffing my hands into my jean pockets. "But asking yourself, 'what if' about this constantly isn't going to help you solve the problem. Planning is good, but you can't be too afraid to just take a step back and rationalize it. And as a plus, you have me, so there's really nothing to worry about."

Stefan's expression darkened and he lowered his gaze. "About that… I was thinking—maybe you should go."

I shifted my weight and held my hands up toward him. "What? Why?"

He sighed. "Look, you know I love having you here. But you need to understand how Damon is. He destroys everything he touches. He's killed so many people—and he likes it. I don't doubt that he would kill you if he had the chance."

"He won't have the chance," I said.

"I can't protect you from him!" he snapped, causing me to flinch in surprise. "I can't guarantee your safety if you stay."

I frowned at Stefan and then stepped closer to him until I could take his face in my hands. "Okay, Stefan," I said quietly, urging him to look at me. He pressed his lips into a thin line and met my eyes begrudgingly, his eyebrows furrowed. "Now, tell me," I continued, "Do you really think you need to protect me? Be honest. Hm?"

He subtly rolled his eyes, but when he opened his mouth, it took him a few seconds to process his reply. "I—realize—that you are quite capable." I nodded in agreement and was about to speak, but Stefan had more on his mind. "But—Damon is older than you. And he's manipulative—and cunning." He wrapped his fingers around my wrist and rubbed my forearm lightly. "And he could hurt you if he decided he wanted to."

"Maybe," I said. "But I'm not scared of him. Listen, I came here to see you. I'm not going to run off now just because your big, bad older brother showed up." I shook my head. "I don't—want whatever kind of family drama you two are dealing with, okay? But I _do_ have your back. And whatever nefarious plans to destroy your life he may have this time, we'll figure it out."

Patting his cheeks affectionately, I took a deep breath. "So… unless you explicitly order me to pack up and go…" I searched his gaze briefly and waited for him to say something, but he regarded me with an expression of defeat. So I removed my hands from his face and finished, "I think I'd like to get some sleep." And after waiting for another second in case he still had anything else to say, I moved to leave the room, only receiving a quick "goodnight" from Stefan before heading up to bed to endure a sleepless night.

* * *

 _Dear Diary,_

 _I've never given it much thought, but I suppose it's rather ironic that, despite all the years I've known Stefan, his brother and I haven't met. Not once. I wouldn't even know him on the street from one person to the next. And I'm sure that was probably a relief for Stefan, considering how much he hates him. But all of this has just made me more and more curious. After all the talk and Stefan's warnings, I have to wonder…_

 _Who is Damon Salvatore?_

 _I guess he's always been kind of a mystery to me, someone I've heard about but never seen or touched. Stefan calls him a monster, and I'm naturally inclined to believe it because Stefan is my friend. But one thing I know is that there are two sides to every story. Sometimes more than that if enough people are involved. One way or another, I'm doomed to meet Damon eventually if I stay in Mystic Falls. I don't want to leave Stefan, especially after I just got here, but I can't help worrying over the trouble I'm possibly about to get myself into._

 _Assuming that Damon is really as awful as Stefan claims he is._

* * *

"Excuse me? Miss?"

I glanced up from my journal. Currently, I was sitting in a secluded booth near the back of a small restaurant in town, with just a pencil and my thoughts. That is, until the tiny waitress in front of me tore my mind out of the clouds and back to the cold, hard reality. Not that my thoughts were that much more pleasant at the moment.

"I asked if you needed a refill," she said kindly with a smile.

I shot a look at my half-filled glass of soda. "Oh. Uh, yeah, that'd be super. Thank you."

"No problem," she replied, refilling my glass to the brim. "Let me know if there's anything else I can get you."

"I will," I murmured, already having lost interest and picking up my writing utensil. But after she was gone and I put it to the paper, I realized that I suddenly didn't feel like writing anymore. After the interruption, my mind was in the wrong place.

I let out a long breath of air and leaned back. Once again, there was nothing to do during the day while Stefan was at school. I really needed to find a new friend to hang out with while the sun was up.

My attention wandered toward the window while I took a sip of my newly refilled soda. For a few minutes, I simply sat to watch the cars go by. Just an average, monotonous activity to keep my brain semi-alert during my afternoon excursion. But I wasn't yet desperate enough to start counting colors or anything.

Suddenly, the feeling of my phone vibrating in my pocket caught my attention. I knew as I pulled it out that there were really only three possibilities. One, it was a random stranger calling the wrong number. Two, it was Zach, I although I couldn't imagine any scenario in which he might try to reach me. Three, it was Stefan, since he was the only true friend I had at the moment. But because I couldn't even guess in that moment who was calling, I just decided to look at the phone immediately. And sure enough…

"What's up, Stefan?" I asked as I put the phone to my ear. "Calling me during class? You bad boy, you."

I heard an annoyed sigh on the other end of the line. "I'm not _in_ class. I—"

"So you're skipping? Your third day of school? As your older cousin, I'm thoroughly disappointed."

"Vivian, would you just be quiet for a minute? This is serious. I need a favor."

I shut up this time. "Okay, what is it?"

Nervousness hid in Stefan's voice as he spoke. "I need you to go to the hospital as soon as you can and compel Vicki Donovan to forget she was attacked by a vampire."

"Wait—" I said once he was finished, "Vicki? The girl from the other night?"

"Yeah. I heard her brother Matt and Elena talking earlier. Vicki told him what she'd seen. And it's not good."

"Oh."

"Which is why I'm asking you to compel her. Tell her it was an animal attack. We can't have her talking about this to the wrong people or it will get ugly quickly."

"Right," I said with a nod and then stood up from my seat. "Okay, I'll go right now."

"Are you sure?" he asked as I fumbled with my wallet to leave a tip. "You don't mind doing this?"

"As you said," I told him, holding the phone tightly to my ear using my shoulder, "We can't exactly have people running around telling everyone about vampires. Especially not in Mystic Falls. And I know compulsion doesn't always work out for you." I fell into silence for a few seconds so that no one would hear our conversation while I paid my bill, and as I stepped out the door I smirked. "Bet you're glad I'm here now, huh?"

There was a pause. "Eternally grateful."

"Don't mention it," I replied.

"Be careful, okay?"

"As always." I disconnected.

Per Stefan's request, I headed right away to the nearby hospital where Vicki was staying. I hated the idea of entering the hospital like this during the day while so many people were constantly running around, but the sooner I got this job done, the better for both me and Stefan. As I walked inside, I passed a receptionist who I briefly compelled to tell me Vicki's room number. And then after inconspicuously ordering her to forget that she saw me, I made my way up, luckily without anyone noticing my presence. When I found Vicki's room, I quietly entered to find her sound asleep in bed.

Her breaths were slow and even as she slept. I approached her, my light steps silent on the floor, until I stopped at the edge of her bed. I rested my hand gently on her shoulder.

"Vicki," I whispered. "Vicki, wake up now. Vic—"

All of the sudden, the girl's eyes popped open and she sucked in a fierce gasp. I wasn't sure if it was her trauma or simply fright as a result of my sudden presence, but she shot up like a rocket and I had to grab her and pin her down. When she tried to cry out, I pressed my hand firmly over her mouth.

"Relax, Vicki," I ordered softly as I met her frightened gaze. "Out in the woods, an animal attacked you. That's all you remember."

"An animal attacked me. That's all I remember," she whispered when I removed my hand, her eyes now glazed over.

I smiled, patting her arm gently. "Good girl. Now go back to sleep." Vicki's eyes fluttered shut once again, and without lingering another moment, I took my hasty departure out the left window.

Having done my honorable civic duty for the day, I decided not to make any more stops and just head home and grab one of my blood bags for an afternoon snack. I was already getting shittish anyway, since I had been rationing the blood in my system in order to avoid too much unnecessary attention by stealing too many blood bags at one time.

I headed back to the house to find Zach gone, probably at work doing—whatever it was that Zach did, which meant I had the house to myself for a little while yet, depending on what Stefan decided to do this afternoon.

Or so I thought.

Since we didn't get much company, I'd been keeping a couple blood bags stuffed in one of the compartments in the kitchen fridge. But to my dismay, when I opened up the fridge to grab a bag, I realized that one was missing from the original three that I had stolen. And with Stefan being all cold turkey on the human blood, I knew there was only one other possible explanation for the bag's disappearance.

So, as I drank out of one of the blood bags I had left, I began a careful search through the house for my perpetrator. The house was quiet aside from my footsteps on the hard floor. A normal human being would have thought the place was completely empty. But I knew I wasn't alone. It didn't take me long despite the large structure of the house, until, as I stepped into the library, I stopped and crossed my arms.

"You don't have to be so dramatic," I murmured. "I know you're here."

"I was just waiting for the right moment to surprise you," an entertained voice said from behind me. I turned around to behold the sight of a dark-haired young man leaning in the doorway, a half empty blood bag in his hand. "Surprise," he added with mock enthusiasm.

I raised an eyebrow, and studying his playful yet dark expression, said, "You know, it's really rude to steal other people's stuff."

He held up the blood bag. "Oh, this? I had no idea. It was just sitting in the fridge with my name on it."

"Doubtful," I scoffed. "Next time, get your own."

"I will, gladly. I tend to be picky about my blood being over a day old, anyway. Here, you can have the rest." He tossed the bag toward me, which I snatched effortlessly out of the air. But I didn't dare drink it after he had his hands on it.

Instead, I set it on the chairside table and leaned against the sofa. "So. Damon Salvatore, I take it?"

He held his hands up, as if pretending to be modest. "You got me. And you are—my little bro's friend, Vivian Sparset."

I bowed theatrically. "Guilty, as charged. You know, Stefan has told me a lot about you."

"Really? Stefan talks about me? I'm flattered."

With a genuine laugh, I said, "I—don't think I'd be flattered in your position."

He shook his head, as if suddenly insulted. "Oh… talkin' bad about me behind my back. Thought I raised him better."

"Ha. Cute."

His eyes flickered toward mine, and I kept a mental note of each subtle step he took toward me. "I see you've been doing Stefan's dirty work."

I cocked my head, not quite sure what he meant. "Dirty work."

"Compulsion. The mind mojo stuff you did on little—Vicki, was it? I admit, I was a bit disappointed that Stef didn't have the guts to do it himself."

"Well, first of all," I said, "Technically, compelling her should have been your job since you were the one who drank her only half dry and left her in the woods for the town to find. And secondly, you spied on me?"

He made a pinch sign with his fingers and I gave him a scrutinizing look. "Seriously. Next time, if you're gonna kill somebody, do it right."

"Ouch, I'm getting lectured by a girl who drinks blood from a bag," Damon said. "Frankly, I don't think I have a thing to worry about. In case you weren't aware, none of this affects me. I can—pretty much do whatever I want because—I know how to cover tracks, and I'm good at it. Stefan, on the other hand—eh. He could probably use a lesson or two. Clearly spends way too much time relying on people like you when there's a problem. And that could be a problem—for him."

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" I asked.

Damon made a face. "Mm… might be. Depends on how I'm feeling later. I'm more of a 'take it as it comes' kinda guy."

 _You're also a total ass._

I smirked. "Well, if you decide that it is, in fact, a threat, be sure to let me know. Or else I might have to kill you."

"Oooh, aren't you feisty," Damon said, approaching me until he was at my side, his shoulder lined up with mine. Then, leaning in toward me slightly, he continued, "But I wouldn't get too confident. This town is hardly safe for a vampire who walks out in the open, not to mention one who has enemies. Probably best if you keep watch on your back."

"All right, _that is_ a threat," I snapped, turning so I was facing him fully, despite the several inches he had on me.

"Ah-ah-ah," he said quietly, holding his index finger up between us. "Might want hold off on this till later. It sounds like we have company."

At that moment, I heard footsteps and the front door creak out by the living room, but when I turned Damon was already gone. Wary of who our visitor might be, I hesitated as I headed out of the library and toward the living room area. But my muscles relaxed when I caught the tone of a familiar voice.

"I—I'm sorry for just barging in. The door was—open."

Pause.

"You must be Elena," Damon said in a friendly voice. "I'm Damon, Stefan's brother."

"Oh… he didn't tell me he had a brother."

"Well, Stefan's not one to brag."

I rolled my eyes and walked out into the living room, where I saw the two of them standing in the hall by the door. "Stefan isn't home, yet, Elena. Uh… maybe you could stop by later?"

Elena turned to me and granted me a nervous smile. "Oh—uh, right. Vivian. I'm sorry, I should have—"

"Oh, really, it's no problem," Damon cut in, basically pretending I didn't exist as he held out his arm in a gentlemanly fashion to signal her to go first. I had to admit, this guy was smooth. "Please, come."

As he led her into the house, much to my own discomfort, Elena looked around the room in awe. "Wow. This is your living room?"

Damon shrugged. "Living room, parlor, Sotheby's auction. It's a little bit kitschy for my taste." Then, after another pause, he said, "I can understand why my little brother's so smitten. It's about time. For a while, I was sure he'd never get over the last one. It nearly destroyed him."

Now that I knew where this was going, it was definitely time for Elena to go. While she had her attention on him, I stood on the side where Damon would be able to see me and shook my head while gritting my teeth. "Cut—it—out," I mouthed, only gaining a smirk from his lips as he went on.

"The last one?" Elena asked.

"Yeah. Katherine. Or… oh, you two haven't had the awkward exes conversation yet, huh?"

Snarling under my breath, I walked forward and placed my hands gently on Elena's shoulders. "Now, Damon, you know this really isn't our business. So maybe we should just leave it alone and let Elena get going."

I could sense Elena getting more uncomfortable at this point, which I totally understood, considering this horrible position Damon just stuck her in. But she nodded a little. "Yeah… you're right. I should be getting… home…"

He shrugged. "Whatever you say. I mean, I'm sure either way, it'll definitely come up now. Unless Stefan just didn't want to say anything because he was worried you'd think he was on the rebound. You know how those relationships end."

Elena stopped and furrowed her eyebrows curiously. "You say it like every relationship is doomed to end."

Damon cocked his head. "Guess I'm a fatalist."

I cursed myself mentally when I heard Stefan come up behind us. "Hello, Stefan," Damon said nonchalantly. And when I turned, Stefan was there with a mixture between fear, anger, and suspicion on his face as he eyed his older brother.

"Elena," Stefan said flatly, "I didn't realize you were coming over."

Elena shook her head apologetically. "I know, I should have called—"

"Oh, don't be silly," Damon interrupted, "You're welcome here any time, right Stefan? You know, I should really break out the family photo albums or some home movies."

Once again, more internal cursing as my hand flew over my face to shield me from this horror. "But," he went on, "I should warn you. He wasn't always such a looker."

I couldn't tell if Elena's expression was one of amusement or she was faking it to be polite, but any kind of tension in the room was amplified instantly by Stefan's cold glare. "Thanks for stopping by, Elena. It was nice to see you."

By then, I could tell for certain that Elena realized she'd somehow overstayed her welcome and nodded in agreement. "Right. Yeah, I should probably go. It—was nice meeting you, Damon."

Damon smiled and took her hand, raising it so he could brush his lips over her knuckles. "Great meeting you too, Elena."

As she turned to head out the door, she first stopped in front of Stefan as if to say something. But after asking his name a few times and only grasping his attention long enough for him to move out of the way, she let out a sigh and kept going.

 _Gee, way to get the girl, Stefan…_

"See you later, Elena," I called.

She turned her head, giving me a forced smile and a wave. "Bye." And then she left without another word.

I leaned against the wall and placed a hand over my eyes again. "Oh, God, that was terrible."

"Really?" Damon asked. "I thought it went pretty well. I like her. She's got spunk."

"How long was she here, Damon?" Stefan demanded in a quiet voice.

"Oh, were you worried? Scared we might be doomed to repeat the past? That is why you play your little 'I'm a high school human' game, isn't it?"

"I'm not playing a game."

"Of course you are, Stefan," Damon said. "We both know the closest you'll ever get to humanity is when you rip it open and feed on it."

"And what kind of game are you playing, Damon?"

"Guess you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?"

Stefan shook his head, now thoroughly irritated, and turned toward me. "Did you do it?"

I looked up blankly. "Do what?"

"The compulsion."

"Oh," I said, feeling like an idiot. "Yeah, that's taken care of. Nothing to worry about."

"I'm sure you'd both like to think that," Damon said with a devilish grin. "But feel free to enjoy the silence while it lasts. Have a nice, relaxing afternoon, little brother." He patted Stefan's shoulder. "Oh, and Vivian." In an instant, Damon was standing in front of me again, just a few inches away. My back still leaning against the wall, I felt invaded, but I didn't say so. Even as Damon took my hand and kissed my knuckles as he had Elena's. "It was a pleasure to meet you. Don't forget that you still have half a blood bag in the library. Wouldn't want to waste it." And then he was gone.

I pushed away from the wall and dragged myself toward Stefan. "I'm really sorry, Stefan. I tried to get her to leave but then Damon started talking about Katherine and…"

He shook his head, putting his hands in his pockets. "It's fine, really. As long as you're okay."

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," I assured him. "Not a scratch. We just got to know each other a little bit. He is quite—charming. In a dark sort of way."

"Trust me," Stefan said coldly. "He's not someone you want to spend too much time with."

"I'd believe it," I said, even though on the inside there was a part of me still finding amusement in his cocky sense of humor.

"So," he said after a pause to indicate a change of subject. "Assuming that nothing terrible is going to happen between now and then, would you like to go see the comet with me tomorrow?"


	5. Chapter 4: Gravity

**Hello, everyone and welcome to chapter 4 of The Vampire Diaries: Blood and Fate! Sorry for the wait. Stuff happened and I needed a little break from this story. But now I'm back with a new chapter, Gravity. This chapter takes on the second half of episode two of the series, which is the night of the comet. I had fun with it, so I hope you get some enjoyment out of it, too.**

 **Thanks for reading and let me know what you think if you have the time!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries.**

Gravity

When Stefan and I arrived at the town square that evening, the sky was clear. It certainly couldn't have been a more perfect night for the comet to pass us. Some stranger handed us both candles, but we were left to find someone to light them on our own. I kept my gaze up as we walked.

"You're going to run into someone, walking around like that," Stefan said.

I scoffed, casting a dismissive glance at him. "That's funny, Stefan." Then, more quietly, I said, "It's just… really nice. I think I was—maybe four years old when I last saw this comet. I barely even remember."

"Well, now you get to see it and it will stay with you forever," he replied gently.

"I hope so," I murmured. And then, after a few seconds of silence I shook my head and scowled. "I'm getting sentimental. Please just make it stop."

"Can't help it if you're a softy at heart," he said, briefly squeezing my shoulders. "I've always known it."

I elbowed him in the side. "This softy could kick your ass."

Laughing, he allowed, "No doubt about that one."

"Oh, hey, look," I said, gesturing ahead. "There's uh—those kids. And your girl."

"Ah—oh…" Suddenly, as Stefan followed my movement with his eyes, he seemed hesitant to continue forward. "Well, maybe we should—"

"Come on!" I coaxed, facing him while making a dragging motion with my hands. "Come on, you know you want to. Let's go."

He teetered back and forth with uncertainty as he slowly stepped in my direction and let out a slow sigh of defeat. "You're impossible."

"It'll be fine," I assured him. "Look, Elena's already got her candle lit," I noted after seeing the boy, Matt, place his candle over hers. I went around so that I was behind Stefan and pushed him forward, until he was standing only a few feet away. Elena turned away from Matt, and didn't even look up as she moved to light Stefan's candle.

"Hi," Stefan said quietly, causing Elena to glance up in surprise. I heard her heart skip a beat when she saw us.

"Hi," she said, seeming as though there was more on her mind, but she decided not to say it. An awkward few seconds of silence stood between us until Elena let out a sigh and turned, walking a few feet away to look up at the sky.

Stefan cleared his throat and turned to light my candle. I frowned. "Thanks." Then, in a whisper, "Now go over there and talk to her."

He was more fidgety than usual. "I invited you. You're my date tonight, not her."

I rolled my eyes. "Grow some backbone, Stefan. You can't leave things hanging after yesterday. Just talk to her. Smooth things out. Look, I know I wasn't too keen on you spending time with her before, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you act like a chicken." I pushed him toward her almost roughly.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" he asked.

"Just go. I can entertain myself." Without waiting for another reply, I slipped away and headed over to where some of Elena's friends had gathered.

"Hello, all," I said in a friendly voice, noting the faces of Bonnie, Caroline, Matt, and some other teenage boy no one had yet introduced to me. "Am I interrupting?" I came up beside Bonnie, who seemed a little uneasy at my closeness, but she smiled at me.

"Oh hey, Vivian!" Caroline said. "I was wondering if you'd show. Looks like you're a part of the Mystic Falls family already."

I smiled. "Well, it's pretty easy to get used to things around here." Meanwhile, I caught an ear of Stefan and Elena's conversation.

" _Yesterday—that wasn't about you, okay?_ "

" _You didn't tell me you had a brother."_

" _We aren't close. It's… complicated._ "

"Hey, I don't think you two have met!" Caroline interrupted, gesturing toward the dark-haired boy across from me. "Vivian, Tyler. Tyler, Vivian."

"Hi there," I said.

"Hey," he replied, although it didn't seem like an entirely kind or friendly greeting.

Once we were done with that short introduction, Caroline startled praddling about something that didn't interest me. In fact, everyone in the group seemed to have something else on their minds. Bonnie looked outwardly like she was engaged in the conversation, but her heart was beating just a hair too fast. Tyler looked annoyed about something, and Matt didn't even have his head in the right place. He was gazing over at Stefan and Elena like a sad puppy.

" _It's okay, Stefan,_ " Elena said softly. " _We met—we talked—and it was epic. But… then the sun came up and reality set in. So…_ "

I frowned, turning around half way to watch Elena blow out her candle and walk off. And poor dejected Stefan was left standing by his lonesome. Not exactly what I hoped would happen tonight.

At that point, everyone began blowing out their candles and Tyler suggested we head over to the Grill to sit down and hang out. The general consensus was in favor of that plan, but I was focused on something else.

"Vivian?" Bonnie asked. "Are you coming?" I only then realized that all the others were already leaving and I held up a finger.

"I'll catch up momentarily," I said. "I need to get Stefan." Blowing out my candle, I quickly jogged over to Stefan and cocked my head in the direction of the Grill. "I take it that didn't go very well."

He sighed. "I'd say it went as well as it could have, considering."

"Okay," I told him. "We'll worry about it later. Come on, we're going across the street. Join us."

He lowered his head, smiling faintly as he fiddled with his extinguished candle. "Actually, I think I'll catch up with you guys later. I'd like to hang out here for a little bit."

"What? Come on, Stefan. Don't be a party pooper."

"I'm not being a party pooper. I just want to stay out here for a little longer."

I glared at him, but something about his tone of voice warned me not to push him. He probably just wanted to be left alone for a few minutes. So much for our date, I guess.

I pressed my lips into a thin line and admitted defeat. "Okay, you win. But don't keep me waiting long, you hear?"

"Wouldn't dream of it."

With an affectionate pat on his shoulders, I left him at his request to kill time with the Jr. Founder's gang at the Grill. When I opened the door and stepped inside, I found the group of kids plus one and minus one sitting at a table together. The plus one being little Miss Elena Gilbert and the minus one being Matt Donovan. So she'd come in here to escape Stefan after all. Maybe it was a good thing I didn't force Stefan to come with me.

"Oh, I thought you were bringing Stefan," Caroline said, clearly trying so hard to pretend that she wasn't still pissed about him rejecting her advances a couple of nights ago.

"He wanted to hang out and watch the comet for a little while," I said, unintentionally locking eyes with Elena for about half a second. "So anyway, what are we talking about?"

"How horribly boring this is," Caroline replied in exasperation. "We need food. And alcohol. That would make this _so_ much more fun."

Elena laughed. "I think you had quite enough the other night to last you the rest of the week, Care."

"Ugh. You're such a goody goody. Oh, speaking of which, did you ever—you know what?"

Elena looked down and shook her head. "Not—here, Caroline. Please."

I assumed she was talking about whatever happened with Stefan based on the suddenly color in Elena's cheeks. But Caroline just smiled. "Ooh, guess that means it's juicy. You'll have to give me the details later."

Finally, Tyler spoke, letting out a grumble of annoyance and sitting up. "All right, you know what? Caroline's right. I really need a drink."

Unfortunately, Tyler did not end up getting said drink. He was interrupted by another issue a few moments later when two more of the Mystic Crew showed up. Matt and Elena's little brother Jeremy both appeared at about the same time, but from different directions. Immediately, I could tell something was wrong with the Gilbert. My suspicions were confirmed as he glanced back and forth between all of us with nervous eyes asking about Vicki.

Tyler didn't give anyone more than a second to process the question. "Well, since you're her stalker, why don't you tell us?"

"I can't find her!" Jeremy exclaimed, ignoring the obvious insult.

"Maybe she found someone else to party with. Sorry, pill pusher. Looks like you've been replaced."

"Pill pusher?" Elena asked, and in that instant I realized a whole new can of worms had been opened.

"Ask him," Tyler said, gesturing to the younger boy.

"You really wanna do this right now?" Jeremy snapped.

"Are you dealing?" Elena demanded.

"She'll never go for you," Tyler said.

Jeremy's eyes flared up. "She already did. Over and over again."

Caroline finally cut in. I was surprised she managed to stay quiet for so long, in all honesty. "Wait. You slept with Vicki Donovan? Vicki Donovan slept with you."

"There's no way," Tyler said.

"I didn't even have to force her into it," Jeremy taunted.

"Ty, what the hell is he talking about?" Matt asked, impatient.

"Nothing. Just ignore that little punk."

Matt huffed in anger. It was the most expressive I'd seen him since we met. "You know what? How about everyone just shut up and help me find my sister?"

Bonnie finally spoke. "We'll check the back," she murmured, gesturing to me and Tyler. I followed behind quickly, not bothering to listen to whatever else was said. My legs carried me more swiftly than I should have been comfortable with in this setting, but my nerves were tingling. If Vicki Donovan was missing… did that mean Damon went after her again? I couldn't think of a logical reason why he might. I'd already compelled her to forget everything—and vampires didn't typically return to their victims after releasing them once. It wasn't a common or rational behavior.

What had me worried was that this had something to do with Stefan. However, I had to slip away from Bonnie and Tyler to find out.

"Where do you think she could have gone?" Tyler asked, now sounding genuinely concerned as we searched the back area of the Grill.

"Have you talked to her today?" I glanced at him.

He shook his head, his voice partially unsteady as if he was remembering something unpleasant. "Only a little. She seemed fine."

"She'll turn up," Bonnie said, emerging from the girl's restroom.

While their backs were turned, I walked over to the back door of the building and pushed it open a few inches. The night air blew in, cooling my face as I stuck my head out. For a few seconds, I closed my eyes, just listening. I heard the sounds of the people's voices and footsteps in the town square, the sounds of dogs barking in the distance. And somewhere nearby, I thought I heard someone crying.

"Vivian?" Bonnie's voice cut through my concentration and I turned my head around to see her and Tyler watching me. "You—okay? What are you doing?"

It took me a moment to decide, but I quickly turned back, listening to the faint voices. " _Stefan Salvatore did this to you._ "

 _"Stefan Salvatore did this to me._ "

I shook my head in annoyance. "I have something to do. I'll be right back." And without giving them a chance to question me or follow behind, I slipped through the door and down the street, utilizing my vampire speed only when I was sure no one could see me.

" _Damon, please… don't do this._ "

They were standing on the roof of a secluded building. A dark place where no one would notice them. I saw Damon gripping the girl, Vicki, by her arms, while Stefan could do nothing to stop him, and I immediately sprang into action. I climbed the building in less than a second, using my element of surprise to put myself between Damon and the girl.

"Back off, Damon," I said in a warning tone, causing him to retreat a step. Vicki couldn't hold her footing once I moved her out of the equation, so Stefan caught her in his grip. Although she was still sobbing, and Damon had ripped her stitches out, so I could smell her blood on the air.

"Well, well," Damon said, in some kind of combination between amused and irritated. "I had a feeling you'd just show up and ruin my fun. We were just having a brotherly moment, weren't we, Stef?"

I heard Stefan's breath catch in his throat as he struggled internally to resist the girl's blood. He set her trembling body down on the hard roof, trying to regain his composure. "Vivian, it's okay… this doesn't concern you."

"See?" Damon said, looking down at me with a devious smile. "Nothing to worry about. So you can just run along, now."

"Sorry," I told him with a dry smile. "Fun's over, now. Fix her, please."

"Aw, so polite. But, sadly, I can't. I still have to watch Stefan lose it and rip into her throat."

"Damon, this isn't a joke."

"Oh, but of course it is," he said, moving closer yet. "Secretly, I bet you love the dark side You're just a little bundle of rebel waiting to get out."

I scoffed, pressing the tips of my fingers to his chest just long enough to push him back a couple inches. "Damon, I'm not Stefan. So, if you don't fix her, I won't hesitate to snap her neck to prevent a problem. Stefan's not going to be ripping her throat open if she's already dead, so…"

"Ooh…" His lip twisted upward. "Yeah, I guess that could throw a wrench the plan." Then, with a shrug, he said, "All right. Guess there are plenty other potential victims."

I glared at him, frustrated that he _always_ seemed to have something to add, until Stefan finally cut in. "No, you know what? Just let her go. Let her tell everyone that vampires have returned to Mystic Falls." He stepped up beside me and fixed his gaze on Damon. "Let them chain me up and drive a stake through my heart. At least then I'll be free of you."

A long pause fell between us then. I turned my head half an inch toward him. " _Wow…_ " I mouthed, raising my eyebrows as I glanced back and forth between him and Damon. At the same time, the latter seemed surprised as well, that damn smile never fading from his lips.

"Huh… all right, then." And to my shock, Damon brushed past us in order to reach Vicki, bending down to pull her into his arms. "Come here, sweetheart, it's okay." Even as she whimpered and cried against him, he gently stroked her hair as he whispered the magic words in her ear. When he pulled away and stood up, her fear dissipated and she examined her surroundings in confusion.

"What happened?" she murmured through narrow eyes. "Where—am I? Ah…" She placed a hand to her neck. "How did I—I ripped my stitches out…"

Stefan hesitated. "You—okay?"

Vicki looked up, as if only noticing him for the first time. She smiled. "I took some pills, man. I'm good." Then, stumbling to her feet, the girl let out a low huff and walked away, leaving me and the brothers alone on the roof.

I touched Stefan's arm. "Are you all right?"

The smile he gave me came only from his mouth, not his eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Damon cocked his head. "Well, hope you're both happy now. That was fun while it lasted. Hey, you know, it's good to be home. I think I might stay a while. This town could use a wake-up call, don't you think?"

"Delighted," I said. "Does that mean I can expect this kind of excitement every night?"

He smirked. "All you have to do is ask, sweetie."

It took about half a second for me to realize he was flirting with me, and I instantly turned and rolled my eyes.

"What are you really up to, Damon?" Stefan asked.

The elder brother shrugged. "That's for me to know and for you to—dot dot dot." He paused to straight his jacket slightly and then nodded toward Stefan. "Give Elena my best. Have a lovely evening, Vivian." And with that, he made his formal exit.

Stefan and I remained silent for a moment after he disappeared. I folded my arms across my chest, watching the direction he had gone. "Stefan?" I addressed quietly, shifting my weight to my left leg. "He makes me want to kill him."

Another pause. "Just wait until you've lived with him for a few weeks."

* * *

So… all was well that ended well, I guess. At least for that evening. Vicki made her way back to the Grill, where her brother fixed her bandage and thanked Stefan for finding her. We didn't see Elena anywhere, so Stefan being Stefan had to make sure she was safe. Luckily, Caroline and Bonnie were sitting conveniently at a table for him. I just waited by the door, though, since I wasn't interested in getting dragged into conversation.

Bonnie was more than happy to give Stefan Elena's phone number, which I found oddly amusing. " _She's really big on texting_ ," she told him. " _And you can tell her I said so_."

Stefan reached out for the piece of paper. " _Thank you_." But as their hands touched, something happened that I almost suspected, considering the events of a couple days ago. The girl paused for a long second, and pulled her hand back as if she'd been slapped.

" _What happened to you?_ " she asked in a whisper. Then, when both Caroline and Stefan both gave her strange looks, she shook her head roughly. "Oh… that was so rude. I'm sorry. Please excuse me." She left with her eyes cast to the floor.

Caroline smiled at Stefan. "Yeah, she wigs out sometimes. It's kind of her thing."

A moment later, Stefan returned to my side, placing Elena's number in his pocket. "I told you Bonnie Bennett was bad news," I murmured as we walked out the door.

"I doubt she's a threat to us," he said. "Especially if she's still new to her powers."

I tilted my head back and forth. "Yeah, hopefully. Anyway, are you gonna call Elena?"

He smiled. "Not tonight. I'll wait. She seemed upset this evening. I don't want to add to it any more than I already have."

With a shrug, I replied, "Guess that's fair."

But amazingly enough, Stefan never even had to call. Later that evening, while I was upstairs watching the comet with my bedroom window open, Elena drove up and knocked on the door. I could hear them talking while they were down on the porch.

"' _Dear Diary… today I convinced myself that it was okay to give up. Don't take risks. Just stick with the status quo. No drama… because now is just not the time. But my reasons aren't really reasons. They're just excuses to hide from the truth. And the truth is that I'm scared, Stefan. I'm scared that if I let myself be happy for one minute the world is just going to come crashing down. And I don't know if I can survive that.'"_

Pause.

" _Do you want to know what I would write? 'I met a girl. We talked. And it was epic. Then the sun came up and reality set in. Well… this is reality. Right here.'_ "

I smiled and cast my gaze down to my own diary that sat in my lap.

* * *

 _Being in love sort of reminds me of a gravitational pull. There's no way to get around it. No matter how hard you try, once you've fallen in love with someone, you can never forget how that feels. You want to reach for the clouds to escape… but gravity always pulls you back down. Right into his arms. Right into his memory. Reminding you that he's always there. Even if you believe in your heart that you can't do it… or that you've moved on… Well, luckily, people don't have to believe in gravity for it to hold them to the Earth._

* * *

When I stopped writing, I looked up at the sky again to watch the comet. Also bound by gravity, I wondered if maybe that comet had a secret love story no one knew about. Absently, I wrapped my fingers around my daylight ring and made a wish.


	6. Chapter 5: Dinner with the Devil

**Hi, everyone and welcome to Dinner with the Devil, chapter 5 of The Vampire Diaries: Blood and Fate. I hope you enjoy it. I personally have had a hard time deciding whether I like the way it turned out. But... now it's out so it's too late! Unless of course I decide to do edits later on down the line. But we'll see what happens. For now, I hope you enjoy Dinner with the Devil, mwahahaha!**

 **Thanks for favoriting, following, and reviewing, and please let me know your thoughts!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries.**

Dinner with the Devil

Over the years, I became accustomed to living as a bit of a night owl, since the late hours were the best time to feed. I also tended to enjoy the night life—it was mysterious and spontaneous, but also an escape from the world of humanity. I just naturally found night time more appealing for my favorite activities. My normal schedule was interrupted, however, when I arrived in Mystic Falls. Being in Stefan's world also meant being, at least in part, in the human world as well. Which meant I had been sleeping in until almost noon quite often in the last few days.

Today was one of those days, and would probably not be the last. By that point, Stefan and Zack were already long gone, to school and work I supposed, respectively. Even Damon was nowhere to be found, about which I could hardly complain for now. I wasn't in the mood for a repeat of last night. Then again, who knew what other kind havoc he might wreak on an average day in Mystic Falls?

But—I couldn't say as it really mattered as long as he stayed out of my hair and refrained from bullying Stefan. It was a new day, after all.

So, despite how late it already was, I took a long shower but then simply changed back into a pair of pajamas. Then I meandered about the house for a bit while I sipped from a blood bag. After that, I hacked (without much trouble) into Stefan's laptop and played video games for an hour. I'd have to remind him to change his password later. It was too darn easy to guess.

The afternoon rolled by slowly, and still no one was home. I was beginning to see a pattern here of early afternoon boredom, which I would eventually have to find a way to remedy. In my day, I had found that vampires typically went out and messed with humans needlessly when they were bored. But that wasn't really my thing.

I predicted Stefan would soon be getting out of class, but I hadn't yet pinpointed exactly when that time was and I never thought to ask. And so it wasn't until a little after 3pm that I found myself graced with another's company, right in the middle of me sticking a mug of hot water in the microwave.

"I didn't even hear you come in the door," I said honestly, turning around half way to observe Damon standing in the kitchen entry way.

"Hm. Distracted with something?" Just the tiniest hint of a smirk rested on his lips.

I pressed my mouth into a thin line and shook my head. "Just making some hot chocolate." During the brief period of silence between us, the microwave beeper went off and I reached in to pull out my hot mug.

"I see that," Damon said. Then, cocking his head as I pretended not to pay attention to his mildly scrutinizing stare, he added, "If you're worried about Stefan, he's at practice today."

"Practice?" I asked curiously, glancing up at him as I set my mug on the counter.

"Yeah, little bro's joined the football team. You shoulda seen him. He looked so—nauseatingly human." I watched carefully as Damon crossed the room until he was only a couple feet away from me, leaning in front of the counter while I stood behind it.

I nodded gently, shaking a tiny chocolate pack between my fingers. "Well, good for him. I'm glad he's having fun. What were _you_ doing at school?"

His smile widened slightly. "Dropping off my new little cheerleader. Couldn't have her missing her first meeting of the year."

"You know," I said, "I've heard that it isn't good manners to play with your food."

He leaned over, resting his chin on his fist. "Tell me honestly—do I look like someone who cares about table manners? Besides, what's an immortal life if you can't have some fun?"

I shrugged. "Just seems like an extra hassle to me. …Hey, could you get me spoon?"

Without a word, Damon leaned around to grab a spoon out of the drawer, and handed it to me lazily. "Thank you," I replied, taking the spoon and then ripping the chocolate packet open so I could stir it into the water. Once the powder was diluted completely, I took a sip and sighed in satisfaction at the smooth chocolate taste on my tongue.

"You know," Damon said, speaking more slowly now, "I'm surprised that you seem to know so much about me from my brother, and yet he's never mentioned a single thing to me about you."

"I just find it weird that we've never actually met, until now."

"Unfortunate for you," he said with a smile. "I could have been rocking your world years ago."

"And fortunate for you since I probably would have murdered you already," I shot back in a sweet voice as I took a sip of my cup.

"Well, you just love to _escalate_ things quickly, don't you?"

I simply shrugged in agreement and Damon shifted the subject a little. "So, Vivian—Viv… Can I call you Viv?"

Whether or not I told him it was okay or not was irrelevant. I knew he wasn't really asking permission and would call me whatever suited him anyway. So I simply stirred my drink slowly. "You can call me whatever you'd like."

"All right then, Viv," he said, "When did you first meet my brother?"

"You want to share past stories now?" I asked.

"Is it that unreasonable that I would want to know more about who my little brother spends his time with?"

"Yeah, I'm sure that's it."

He looked mischievous in that moment as he replied, "Okay, so _maybe_ I'm just curious. Sue me."

With my cup in both hands, I leaned forward against the counter and pressed my lips together. "Well… I guess we probably met in—1888 or '89? It's hard to keep track—I mean, we really didn't get along at first. But eventually he grew on me. And now we're close friends. We've spent time a lot of time together over the years. Late teens and early twenties—on and off through the 50s, 60s, and 70s…"

"Really?" Damon asked. "You held out with Stefan the broody bunny eater for that long? I'm sure having him as a roommate had to be thrilling."

I rolled my eyes at his sarcastic comment but couldn't help laughing anyway, even as I told him what an ass he was. Then, once I recovered my composure, I noticed him looking at me again, as if studying me somehow.

"What?" I asked.

"I was just thinking you're not really what I was expecting."

I raised an eyebrow. "In what way?"

"Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but you seemed pretty pissed at me last night," he said. "I came in here prepared for a brawl. Yet, you aren't very—confrontational today. Aside from vague threats and calling me an ass, that is."

"Do you _want_ me to be more—confrontational?" I asked, frowning at him.

He shrugged. "Let's say I just wasn't anticipating the image of you making hot chocolate in fuzzy pajamas like you belong on the Muppet Christmas Special."

At that point, I couldn't help smiling again, just a little. "Well… You'll find I'm pretty easygoing most of the time. I'm not a fan of holding grudges." _Even if you did undo my compulsion after making me clean up_ your _mess._ "And in any case, I just like hot chocolate and fuzzy pajamas. What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing's wrong with that," he said. "Actually, I think it's adorable."

He said that in the middle of me taking a sip and I met his eyes carefully. Flirtatious blue irises. More expressive than perhaps any eyes I'd ever seen. He wasn't exceptionally tall although he definitely had several inches on me, but he was toned and lean and had defined features. In truth, the man was gorgeous and undeniably drop-dead-sexy. And he knew it, too.

"Well, you're quite charming, yourself, Mr. Salvatore," I allowed, putting my cup to my lips. "But if you're planning on trying to seduce me, pretty words aren't going to work."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? You know, I've had women tell me that before. And they all caved eventually. They just couldn't resist me."

I smiled dryly. "Well, you won't have to worry about me. I'm not going to fall for you, trust me."

Damon pushed away from the counter and patted the top gently. "Yeah, we'll see about that."

As he started walking away, I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out childishly at him. He disappeared from the room then, leaving me alone with my hot chocolate. After a moment, I heard his footsteps heading up the stairs. Maybe he was going to snoop in Stefan's journal or something. I mean, he certainly didn't seem like the type of guy to go take a nap or read quietly in his own room.

But, whatever. Not my problem. I had Stefan's back when his life or identity were at stake, but anything like that was a brother vs brother thing.

Stefan walked in sometime later, bag on his back and sweat on his brow. I greeted him with a smile.

"Hello, Stefan. How was football practice?"

He pressed his lips together in a very Stefan-like fashion. "Fine, thanks. How—wait, has Damon been here?"

I nodded and pointed out of the room in the direction of the stairs. "Yeah, I think he's up there. He came in earlier and we talked. He mentioned you got accepted into the team, so great job, man!"

Making a noise that sounded half way between a chuckle and a scoff, he said, "Well, 'accepted' may be a strong word, but, um… Oh, by the way, tonight you and I are going to dinner at Elena's house."

"Dinner?"

"Yeah, she wants me to make friends with Bonnie. She thought it would be a good idea for you to come too, so I agreed."

I frowned. _Oh, crap-tastic. I'm sure this will be fun._

"All right, I guess that's cool," I said with a one-shoulder shrug. "I'll be ready."

"Great," he replied, then leaving me and heading upstairs, where Damon would probably be lurking doing who-knows-what.

* * *

Damon left not long after that, claiming he had a date with his dinner (Ugh, it sounded creepy when I said it that way), and a few hours later Stefan and I made our way over to Elena's house, a place I'd never been until that point. When I stepped onto the porch, I glanced around at the chair swing in the corner and the large windows on either side. It was a sizable house, but at the same time, so _normal._ There was a charming appeal about it.

"You nervous?" Stefan asked as he reached out to press the bell button.

I rolled my eyes. "I think if anyone should be nervous, it's you. After all, I'm not the one waiting approval by my girlfriend's best friend. Awkward. Not to mention it won't be all sunshine and rainbows now that you've had your first kiss. Just saying."

"Okay, okay, point taken," he said begrudgingly. "We're just taking things slow, all right? Nothing will be more complicated than it has to be."

With a scoff, I murmured, "Yeah, good luck with that."

I was barely finished speaking before the young female Gilbert opened the front door. "Hi, guys. I'm so glad you both could come."

"Our pleasure," Stefan said softly, lowering his head half an inch. _Such a gentleman as usual._

Elena smiled. "Come on in, Stefan."

She moved out of the way for him and he stepped through the door. I, however, didn't move. She hadn't invited me in yet, which meant I couldn't enter. One of the many perks of being a vampire, I guess.

"Uh, I hope I won't take up too much room," I said. "Stefan told me I had to come but I wasn't sure if that was because you'd really invited me or because he just didn't want to come all by himself." I smirked at Stefan, who gave me a dirty look.

But Elena just chuckled. "No, not at all. You're more than welcome. Come on." She made a swift motion with her hand for me to follow her, and so I moved forward and stepped across the threshold. Giving Stefan a quick thumbs-up, I walked past him and followed Elena into the kitchen, where Bonnie was still finishing up with dinner preparations.

"Your house is really nice, Elena," I said, figuring that was probably a normal, safe thing to say.

Elena released a short laugh and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Uh—yeah, thanks. Been in the family for generations. A lot of good memories here." Her breathing was just slightly uneven as she went over to grab four plates for our meals.

"Anything we can help with?" Stefan offered.

Elena shook her head lightly. "Mm, no… I don't think so. Everything is almost ready so if you guys just want to take a plate and help yourselves we can move over to the table." After she handed the plates to Bonnie, the latter handed one to each of us carefully. She neglected to look either of us in the eye during this moment, although I didn't think it was even a conscious decision. She was simply uncomfortable, and it was far too easy to tell.

However, unlike with Stefan, she still granted me the kindness of a "hello", while she could barely manage to nod and smile at the Salvatore.

We moved to the table after filling our plates and sat down to enjoy a silent, awkward dinner together. Seriously, for several minutes no one said a word. At one point I met Stefan's gaze and shrugged my shoulders to encourage him to talk, but he just pressed his lips together and glanced back down at his plate.

 _He's freaking hopeless._

I cleared my throat. "So… I heard Stefan made the football team today at school."

Stefan raised his eyes again and furrowed his brows at me before quietly allowing, "Yeah, I did."

"He played football a lot when he was younger," I said. "I remember him being pretty tough on the field."

"Oh, yeah, he was great today," Elena cut in with a smile. "I was very impressed. I'm just glad Tanner let him on the team. I wasn't sure about that, all things considered…"

"Tanner?" I asked.

"Our history teacher," she explained. "He likes to pick on everybody, but Stefan got on his bad side by outsmarting him today so… uh, how much of a hard time did he give you, Stefan?"

Stefan twirled his fork absently. "Well… since he let me on the team I guess I must have done something right."

Elena laughed. "You know, Bonnie, you should have seen him today. Tyler threw a ball right at him—"

"I heard," Bonnie said, nodding slowly and then going back to eating. Elena fell silent at her failed attempt to bring Bonnie into the conversation.

Then, lightbulb going off with another idea, Elena asked, "How about you tell Stefan and Vivian about your family?"

The face Bonnie gave Elena looked only just short of disgusted before she nodded and murmured, "Uh… divorced. No mom. I live with my dad."

"No, I mean about the witches."

Now, Bonnie looked positively repulsed. "Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches," Elena continued.

I smiled. "Oh, yeah, you told me a little about that the other day, didn't you?"

"Did she?" Elena asked, sounding surprised.

"I was just—making some conversation," Bonnie said, almost defensively. "It's just a lot of hocus pocus."

I shrugged. "I thought it was pretty cool."

Bonnie shot me a look, and finally Stefan spoke. "A family of witches, huh? I, uh, I'm not—all that versed, but I know of a history of Celtic druids that migrated here in the 1800s."

"My family came from Salem," Bonnie explained softly.

"Really?" Stefan said, almost fooling me with his feigned surprise. "Salem witches?"

Bonnie nodded.

Stefan glanced at me. "Hm… well, I would say that's pretty cool, too."

"Why?" the petite girl asked.

"Well," Stefan said, holding part of his fork in both hands. "Salem witches are known as being heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity."

In that moment, I thought I saw him break through a wall. Finally, Bonnie's eyes began to soften and she granted him a small smile. "Yeah. They are."

Only a few seconds of silence passed by us when the doorbell rang. For a moment I was confused, as I hadn't thought Elena was expecting any more company. And of course, when she mused, "I wonder who that could be," like a stereotypical character from a bad horror film, I knew that she wasn't. As she stood up to get the door, Stefan rose as well with a suspicion expression resting on his face. I followed him to the door, only to widen my eyes in surprise when I saw none other than Damon and little Caroline Forbes standing in the doorway.

"Surprise!" Caroline exclaimed. "Bonnie mentioned you were having dinner, so we brought dessert."

Elena, despite her attempt at politeness, was clearly bewildered. "Oh… uh…"

"Hope you don't mind," Damon said, courteously but without a hint of sincere concern for whether she minded or not.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan demanded, fighting to keep his voice beneath the level of aggression that would frighten the present group.

Damon smiled and gave Stefan a meaningful look. "Waiting for Elena to invite me in."

Elena seemed to have recovered from the majority of her discomfort and nodded. "Oh, yeah, you can—"

"No, no, no," Stefan said swiftly, almost desperately. "He can't… he can't stay. Can you, Damon?"

Caroline, who had already come right in, smiled awkwardly. "Get in here."

In the moment, I knew why Stefan wanted to keep his brother out. If Damon had access to Elena's house, he would be able to come in here at any point—do whatever he wanted. All vampires were dangerous, but a vampire who was not on your side could be far worse. And Damon was on a side all his own.

I tried my best not to hesitate. "Actually, you know it's kind of late and we're nearly done so maybe we should just all get going—"

But Elena didn't take the bait. "It's fine. Just come in."

And then it was all over. Too late. Nothing to be done. The resident of the house had spoken, and Damon was free to come and go as he pleased. I don't think I'd ever seen Stefan look quite so visually disturbed.

Damon stepped through the door as if it was nothing and after glancing around for a moment, he smiled at Elena. "You have a beautiful home."

"Thank you," Elena replied in a friendly voice.

A while later the six of us sat together in the living room, with me leaning next to Stefan on the arm of the couch. On the other side of me sat Bonnie in a chair, while Elena sat next to Stefan and Damon and Caroline sat together in a chair across from us.

As usual, Caroline took up most of the conversation. "I cannot believe Mr. Tanner let you on the team," she said with a laugh. "Tyler must be seething. But good for you! Go for it!"

"That's what I'm always saying," Damon said. "You gotta engage. Can't just sit around waiting for life to come to you. You need to go get it." Stefan didn't respond, as he was too busy giving Damon the evil eye.

I smiled at Damon. "Couldn't agree more."

Damon's eyes met mine for about half a second. "Well, you know Viv and I have always made it a point to push him out of his comfort zone, haven't we? After all, Stefan was such a shy child."

Stefan nodded, clearly irritated. "I think that's—plenty about me—"

"Well, if you're looking for something else to talk about, tell me how Elena is _ever_ going to learn her routines at cheerleading practice," Caroline said.

Elena grimaced and Bonnie crossed her legs. "I can work with her. She'll get it."

But Caroline wasn't listening. "I guess we could put her in the back…"

Damon cocked his head. "You don't really seem like the cheerleading type, Elena."

"Oh, that's just cause her parents died," Caroline said bluntly, causing everyone else to fall into uncomfortable silence. "She's totally just going through a blah phase. I mean, she used to be way more fun." Then, as if having realized she said too much, Caroline added, "And—I say that with complete sensitivity."

"Great save," I said impulsively, smiling sweetly at Caroline. _Bitch._

After a few more seconds of awkward silence, Damon said, "I'm sorry, Elena. I know what's it's like to lose your parents. In fact, Stefan and I have watched almost everyone we loved die."

"We don't need to talk about that right now, Damon," Stefan warned, losing his patience.

"Oh, you're right," he replied. "Sorry. Last thing I wanted was to bring _her_ up."

I fought the urge to slap myself in the face. This guy had no filter at all. I liked to mess with Stefan every once in a while, but Damon just wanted to make this uncomfortable for everyone. What the hell was his problem?

It didn't get much better from there, either. More awkward conversation ensued as we brought our dishes into the kitchen to clean up. Elena and Bonnie did most the dish washing, but while I sat in the living room with Stefan, he began asking Caroline about the scarf wrapped securely and quite conveniently about her neck.

"Can I see it?" Stefan asked. "Would you mind taking it off?"

"Stef, I don't think that's a good idea," I whispered, for fear that the wrong person might walk in at the wrong time and see something terrifying.

"I can't," Caroline said, smile still gracing her lips as if it was nothing.

"Why not?" Stefan asked. "Are you okay?"

The girl suddenly appeared confused and a little stifled. "All I—know is that I can't take it off."

I sucked in a breath when I heard Damon's footsteps enter the room. "What are you kids up to?"

Stefan spoke calmly and collectively. "I was just commenting on her scarf."

Damon gave his little brother a pointed look and then sat down, turning toward Caroline. "Hey, Elena and Bonnie are finishing up the dishes. Why don't you go help out?"

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Does it look like I do dishes?"

He leaned in closer. "For me?"

"Um, no."

With a low sigh of annoyance, he twisted her toward him and ordered, "Go see if Elena and Bonnie need help in the kitchen."

A short interval of silence occurred, and then Caroline returned to her chipper self. "You know, I think I'll go see if Elena and Bonnie need help in the kitchen."

"Great," Damon said with mock enthusiasm, amusedly watching her walk away.

Stefan glared at Damon, who currently appeared quite pleased with himself, and affirmed, "They are people, Damon. She's not a puppet. She doesn't exist for your amusement, for you to feed on whenever you want to."

"Sure she does," Damon said. "They all do. They're whatever I want them to be. Mine for the taking."

I laughed involuntarily, and Stefan frowned at me. "Do you think this is funny, Vivian?"

"Kinda."

When my friend's eyes darkened, I continued, "I'm sorry, I just… you know what? I'm not going to say it. I don't care, actually. I don't care about Caroline, I don't care what Damon does to her in his spare time—I don't even care that in normal society he'd probably be branded a pedophile for sleeping with a minor. I mean, you are like, a hundred and seventy years old, right? Turned when you were at least twenty-five, I'm thinking. Kinda creepy. But, like I said, I really don't care."

"Pedophilia?" Damon asked. "What an accusation!"

I scoffed. "This is stupid."

I had my reasons. Because if I said what I really meant, Stefan would probably kick me out of his house. If I told him that despite Damon's clear sadistic tendencies, I wasn't in the least bit interested in defending Caroline against him, there would be hell to pay. Stefan didn't like to hear how I felt about a vampire's nature. It was something we usually agreed to disagree on, but in this case, it was probably better to just keep my mouth shut.

And while the two brothers argued, only one other thought came to mind: _Hey, guess that would make Stefan a pedophile, too._


	7. Chapter 6: Believer

**Hey guys, and welcome to chapter 6 of The Vampire Diaries: Blood and Fate, Believer! It's 2:30 a.m. and clearly I am insane for staying up this late to finish a chapter. My eyes even feel so heavy... but I was so close that I couldn't help it!**

 **Anyway, this chapter follows episode 4 of the main series, the day of the Founder's Party! I had a lot of fun with this one, since there's a lot of Bonnie in it, plus Vivian makes an important choice that is going to have a large impact on her personal story development in the next few chapters. So, yay!**

 **Thanks for all favorites and follows, and let me know your thoughts if you have time! Hope you enjoy. I'm going to bed now, haha!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries.**

Believer

"He killed Tanner."

"What was that?" I asked in a muffled tone, glancing up at Stefan who had just walked by the open bathroom door. Currently, I was in the middle of brushing my teeth, and I stuck my head out to greet him. "What's wrong?" I repeated, my mouth full of minty toothpaste.

Stefan came to a stop and turned around to face me, distress plain in his eyes. "He killed Tanner, Vivian."

"Who?"

"Damon."

"No, I figured that. Who's Tanner?"

With an exasperated sigh, he said, "The teacher. You know, the one we talked about the other day?"

Lightbulb.

"Oh, the history teacher and coach!" I'd already forgotten that Elena mentioned him at dinner. Frankly, that was the least memorable part of the conversation.

"Right," Stefan replied. "Well, he isn't either of those anymore. He's dead. God…" Dragging his palm down his face, he pressed his back up against the wall and shook his head. "Oh, can't believe this."

"So, back up," I said, pulling the toothbrush out of my mouth and spitting in the sink. "You're saying Damon killed your teacher? When did this happen? At the game?" How did I not know about this? I spent all evening at the school just to see Stefan play stupid football. Granted, I did leave early after it was over and there were hundreds of people running around. I guess I could have simply missed it.

"Yes, at the game—I provoked Damon and he lashed out… ripped Tanner's throat apart."

For a few seconds I considered what Stefan could have said that would have possibly _provoked_ Damon into attacking a school teacher, and raised my eyebrows at him. This came as a surprise, since I wasn't under the impression that Damon really needed to be provoked into much of anything. "What did you do?"

"I made a fatal assumption," Stefan murmured. "I thought that I could prove he still had some humanity left in him…" He shook his head ruefully. "But I was wrong. He doesn't care about anyone—he's never going to stop. Not unless I make him stop."

 _Uh oh._ "What are you planning, Stefan?"

His jaw set as his eyes met mine, he said to me, "Ridding myself and this world of his chaos, once and for all."

* * *

I had no idea what Stefan planned to do to Damon. And in all honesty, I wasn't sure that I wanted to be a part of it. Although Damon was a monumental ass and clearly enjoyed toying with his victims as much as possible, I had no real grudge against him. Stefan said his brother lacked any humanity, but if Damon felt he had to prove that, it had to mean the opposite. Pretending not to feel in order to avoid hurt and betrayal—that was typical vampire behavior.

I was actually surprised that Stefan didn't realize this.

As I headed out to the Grill to do some writing in a nice quiet corner, I wondered if maybe Stefan meant to kill Damon. Would he have the gall to go through with such an act? My gut instinct told me yes, if only because I had seen the darkest corners of Stefan's subconscious, and I knew _exactly_ what he was capable of. I knew that he could, but the question remained if he _would._ After all, no matter what they put me through, I didn't think I could ever imagine killing my own brother or sister. They had both already been gone for almost a century, though.

Pushing away memories of the past, I stepped into the Grill and took in all the scents from the people and the food. But I never ended up getting to the writing part, or even the sitting down part, because as soon as I walked in I ran into a familiar face.

"Bonnie, good morning," I said, immediately slapping on my friendly face and smiling at her.

"Oh—hey Vivian," the girl replied with a hesitant smile back. "What's up?"

"Ah, I was just looking for somewhere nice to hang out," I told her. "It can get kinda dull at home."

She nodded, but at the same time I could tell she was struggling to find something to say. "Right."

I cleared my throat, and then nodded before starting to move past her. "Well, it was nice seeing you. Guess I'll just—"

"Um, actually…" I turned back toward her when she spoke again, still sounding slightly nervous but a bit more confident. "I also—I wanted to say I had a nice time at dinner the other night, and apologize for how rude I've been lately."

I found it hard to believe that _anyone_ genuinely enjoyed dinner the other night, but I repelled my urge to point that out inappropriately. "Oh. Really? I didn't think you were rude. I know I tend to have a way of making people uncomfortable because sometimes my filter doesn't work right—"

"No, honestly," Bonnie said, shaking her head, "You did nothing wrong. It's just, stuff at home and weird witchy stuff freaking me out and—I've been paranoid. It's nothing you did, I promise. It's all me. Crazy. I'm just crazy."

I laughed, partly to ease her discomfort and partly from the irony that she still didn't believe she was a witch. "Aren't we all? It's fine. I appreciate your apology, though."

"I was hoping you and I could be friends," she added, catching me off-guard.

Friends? With a normal, human girl who was quite possibly a witch and might try to kill me if she figured out I was a vampire? The tiny adrenaline junkie in me thought it was a spectacular idea. And besides, how could I possibly bring myself to refuse that adorable face?

Darn it. Stefan was right. I was such a softie.

"Sure, I would love that," I said.

She smiled then, as if relieved. "Then, as my new friend—I was wondering if you could do me a favor?"

 _Nice going, Vivian. What have you gotten yourself into?_

"What is it?"

She bit her lip. "I was wondering if you'd go with me to the Founder's Party this evening."

"Founder's Party? They still do that?"

"Still?"

"Oh..." I caught myself and murmured, "I just mean—I haven't been here in a long time and I thought I heard… well, anyway, you don't have anyone to go with you?"

"Elena's going with Stefan and Caroline's going with Damon. And I don't have a date or anything, so I thought maybe… I'm sorry, it probably seems like I'm trying to take advantage of you—"

"Only a little," I said with a grin. "Actually, I'd really like to go. Only—I don't have anything to wear."

Her eyes widened. "You don't have a dress?"

"I didn't think to bring one when I came to Mystic Falls."

She bit her lip, as if under consideration for a few seconds. Then she smiled and tilted her head. "Well, we still have six hours. Let's fix that."

Okay, so, in my lifetime, I'd had a few girlfriends. I'd also gone out shopping plenty of times. But most normal people would probably laugh if they ever knew that I'd never gone shopping with a girlfriend—ever. Usually, I had other stuff to worry about, and the opportunity just never came around. But once I was in the store with Bonnie Bennett sorting through racks of dresses, I somehow found myself enjoying the experience.

"What about this one?" Bonnie asked.

I looked up from what I was doing to see the girl holding up a long, red, sleeveless dress. Very red. Pressing my lips together as I studied the garment, I scratched the side of my head with my index finger. "It's, uh…"

As I struggled to come up with an appropriate word to describe it, Bonnie twisted the dress around toward her and frowned. "Yeah, you're right. Too Jessica Rabbit."

She quickly stuffed the dress back on the rack and I smiled. "Good adjective."

"Okay, so what would look good on you?" Bonnie murmured, looking back and forth between me and each dress she glanced at.

"I don't know, I'm just not feeling it," I said. "I've never really thought I was dressy material, you know?"

"Oh, but come on, you're gorgeous!" she exclaimed. "I would kill for that natural chestnut look. There has to be something… Ooh, what about this one!"

Bonnie shoved a dress in my direction and studied me for a moment. The piece she chose was a medium cut pink dress, such a light color pink that it looked almost white. From the breast area down it was a little bit silky to the touch, but it covered the upper chest, shoulders, and wide neckline with a transparent lace pattern. Which at least meant I wouldn't have to try to hold up a sleeveless dress.

"What do you think?" she asked. "It looks like it'll fit. You should try it."

I sighed and took the hanger from her. "All right, let's check it out."

And so I headed into the dressing room to try on my new garment. As Bonnie predicted, the dress did indeed fit quite well. The skirt feel just below my knee and swished at my sides to give me some freedom. It was neither too snug nor too baggy, and accentuated my body type nicely.

Heading out of my stall, I held up my hands and twirled around to show off the look to Bonnie. "Well, tell me. Do I look like a sexy beast or what?"

She laughed. "Wow—yeah, you look nice! And it's not too much either—I mean, it won't make you look over-dressed at the party. I really like that on you, Vivian. It makes your brown eyes pop out. And it complements your rosy complexion, too."

"You don't think it's too girly?" I asked.

"No, not at all! I mean—I guess it's not what you want if you're going for 'naughty bitch' but this isn't really that kind of party if you know what I mean."

"Oh, I get you," I agreed with a smile. Then, nodding, I added, "Okay. I like it. Let's get this one."

Bonnie's eyes lit up. "Awesome! It really does look pretty on you."

I dashed into the changing room and shimmied out of the dress so I could get back into my regular clothes, after which I emerged and headed with Bonnie to the shoe store. Picking out shoes, in my opinion, was far more difficult than picking out a dress. I was extremely choosy about my footwear.

"So, what do you think?" she asked.

I shook my head and shrugged. "Pretty much anything but heels."

"You don't like them?"

"I think they are _vastly_ overrated, unless you're using them to stab an attacker or something."

Bonnie cracked a grin as she scanned down the row of shoes. "Fair enough. Would you wear wedges?"

"Small ones," I said with a shrug, pulling out a pair of hideous flats and then returning them to their original spot.

Eventually, we went with a pair of white wedges that were in my shoe size and moderately comfortable. Afterward, we went to get something light to eat together so we wouldn't be starving by the time evening came around. And then Bonnie drove me home, despite my insistence that it wasn't necessary. When we pulled up at the Boarding House, I couldn't help but notice the girl's slight uneasiness by the change in her heart rate. But I pretended to be oblivious and instead simply agreed to meet her at the party and said "tata for now," before she drove away.

Early evening crept along slowly, and after I got myself all dressed up for the party I ran down the hallway to find Stefan and Damon.

 _"Here's to history repeating itself, huh?"_ I heard Damon murmur.

"Knock knock," I said, tapping my index finger in the doorway. Stefan sat in a chair, still not ready with only a white tank top on, while Damon was already mostly dressed up with a black button-down pulled on. He had a drink in his hand and was about to take a sip, but he paused when he saw me in the door.

Both of them seemed surprised by my presence, either that or what I was wearing. I wasn't sure which at first, until Damon cracked grin. "Well, look at you, cleaning up nice. I like it." He winked at me playfully, and I smirked at him in return.

"Why, thank you. It's not all Muppet pajamas and fluffy slippers, you know."

"I didn't realize you were going to the Founder's Party," Stefan said. Before opening my mouth to reply, I noticed a little bit of distress in his facial expression, as if something had tipped him off.

Stepping into the room and sitting down on one of the chairs, I replied, "Well, really, how could I miss it? I mean, I may not represent one of the official founding families, but Mystic Falls is my home. And I was invited. Bonnie needed a friend to go with."

Damon scoffed. "Bonnie Bennett? Good for you. It's nice making little human friends, isn't it? Yum."

Stefan gave his brother a dark look, but I just rolled my eyes. "I am not _eating_ my date, Damon. God."

Damon let out a sigh and groaned slightly. "Well, gee, I thought you were at least more fun than my brother, Viv. But I forgot you just like to drink from blood bags. I'm starting to think you're as boring as Lexi." When he finished speaking, Damon brought his drink up to his mouth again, but this time, he paused. And after a second, he tipped the glass and poured the drink on the floor.

"Gotta admire your effort, Stefan—pouring yourself a drink and then spiking the bottle with vervain. But I'm not some drunk sorority chick. Can't roofie me." He let out a small breath, as if genuinely disappointed. "But I can't helping feeling a little used. I kinda thought we were all having a moment, here. Now I guess I'll have to go to the party angry. Who knows what I'll do."

As Damon started walking away, I found something about what he said terribly funny and I couldn't help spitting out a tiny fit of laughter. "Ha, Damon, you are such a riot, honestly."

He stopped and raised an eyebrow, and even out of the corner of my eye I noticed Stefan watching me like I was insane. I grinned up at Damon through my laughter. "I'm sorry—it's just hard to take you seriously like this. I mean—come on, was that supposed to be a threat? Are you that desperate for attention? You're cute, Damon, but come on…"

Before I had a chance to finish, Damon cut off most of my chuckles with a burst of speed that had him leaning over me, his hands grasping the arms of the chair. Instinctively, Stefan jumped up, but I put my hand out to stop him, without ever taking my eyes off Damon's.

"Do you have personal boundaries?" I asked softly, holding my composure perfectly. "Because I do."

The elder brother still had a tiny smirk on his face, but all the humor in it was gone. "You have a problem, Viv. You have a problem because you seem to underestimate what I can do. What I _will_ do. I've been generous with you, allowing you to live in this house, being as chivalrous and kind as I possibly can. But if you piss me off, I won't be so kind."

I smiled sweetly, leaning in so that my face was only inches from his. "Sorry to have offended you, Mr. Big Bad _Man_ of the House."

He didn't make any move to reply, drowning us in several seconds of silence as his eyes briefly narrowed on my mouth before he pushed away from the chair. "Have fun at the party," he said, almost as if the whole ordeal hadn't happened—but I still heard a tiny edge in his voice. "Save me a dance." And with that, he was gone.

Stefan sighed, as if releasing a breath he'd been holding for several minutes. "Well, that wasn't your finest moment."

"Hey, don't look at me," I told him as I stood up from my chair. "You were the one who decided it was a good idea to spike his drink. Did you really think that would work?"

"No," he said quietly. "I didn't. I have another plan."

"How did you even get the vervain?" I asked.

Even though Damon was already gone and there was no chance of him hearing us, Stefan leaned closer to me and lowered his voice. "Zach has a stash downstairs. Tonight I plan on sneaking some vervain into Caroline's drink, and hopefully that will be enough to fool him."

I frowned. "Okay. So you pump Damon with vervain. Then what?"

"Then I lock him up."

"You're going to let him desiccate?" Starving a vampire to the point of desiccation was practically a fate worse than death.

Stefan nodded. "It's the only way. It's the only way to protect the people of Mystic Falls."

I scratched the back of my neck and turned away from him. In truth, I didn't really like this plan at all. But I had to look at this with some perspective. This wasn't just about the way Damon chose to enjoy his dinner. It was about the fact that he would continue to torment Stefan no matter where he went. About the fact that, if Damon stayed in Mystic Falls, Zach was in danger, Stefan's new girlfriend was in danger, even I was in danger. I could deny it and say I could take care of myself all I wanted, but if I made a wrong move or Damon decided he wanted me gone, I would be at serious risk. I couldn't sit around playing the middle-man. Stefan and I had to look out for on another.

I folded my arms across my chest with a sigh, and met his intense gaze. "Okay. Let's do it."

* * *

Stefan, Elena, Bonnie, and I all entered the Lockwood residence together when we arrived. And the man I guessed to be Mayor Lockwood stood by the door to show us in as soon as we finally made it through the ridiculous line of people leading up to the house.

Mayor Lockwood already had a drink in his hand and greeted us cordially upon our entrance. "Hello, Mayor Lockwood," Elena said with a smile.

"Hey, guys, please come on in."

"Thank you," Stefan and I both said simultaneously, causing me to grin at him.

"Jinx! You owe me a soda," I muttered, just loud enough for him to hear, and he smirked.

I decided to give Elena and Stefan some time to themselves while I wandered around admiring the décor with Bonnie. While I did have other concerns on my mind, mainly Damon and this plan of Stefan's, I remained as faithful as I could to Bonnie for most of the evening.

However, I did get a front row seat of Stefan isolating Caroline and spiking her drink with vervain.

"You're so protective of him," Bonnie observed, smiling at me while so very ignorant of the truth around her. "It's cute."

I laughed, quickly coming up with a valid excuse. "I'm just making sure Caroline doesn't try to jump him like she did when they first met. I mean, I know she has Damon, but now she has a drink in her hand so, you never know what could happen…"

The young girl bit her lip. "Tell me honestly: what's Damon like? I mean, the kind of person he really is?"

I found the irony amusing that she would ask me what kind of person Damon was, considering I had known him hardly longer than she had. But I shook my head slowly, fishing in my mind for as honest an answer as I could give. "He's pretty closed off. And complex in that he's been through a lot. Take what I say how you will, but I think he's just the kind of guy who hides his own pain behind humor and a tough act. And—those are typically the most dangerous ones."

She hesitated. "Do you think he's good for Caroline?" Her voice was careful, as if she realized that she was unsure about the territory she was treading.

I simply pressed my lips together. There was no possible way to give a straight, honest answer to that question. "I guess only time will tell that…"

Luckily for Caroline (and Bonnie, for that matter) none of us would have to find out.

The two of us hung out and chatted for a little while longer, until Bonnie mentioned to me that she had to go to the restroom. So while I waited, I walked around looking at the tiny pieces of history scattered about the house. This included an old registry from the original Founder's Party, which had both Stefan's and Damon's names signed in it. I wondered how they managed to talk their way out of that one to Elena.

Since Bonnie wasn't back yet, I decided to take a quick peek upstairs to see what the second floor looked like. However, I stopped half way when I heard two familiar voices.

 _"What is that?"_ Caroline asked.

Damon's voice was the one that piqued her interest. _"A very important crystal."_

 _"How did you even know that was there?"_

 _"Because I put it there."_

What?

 _"When?"_

 _"A long time ago. And tonight, I'm taking it back, thanks to you."_

 _"But what's it for?"_

 _"Never you mind—"_

 _"You can't just steal it—"_

 _"It's not stealing if it's mine. Now, come on."_

As soon as I heard their footsteps, I quickly retreated back down the stairs and into a different room, as to not look suspicious.

A crystal? While I occupied my body's motions by taking a quick drink from a butler walking past, I wondered what crystal Damon could have been referring to. Did it have something to do with his master plan? His reason for returning to Mystic Falls? But I still had to wonder how a simple crystal could be of use in any form. Unless, somehow, there was magic involved.

"Hey, Stef, what's up? Have you seen Bonnie?" I asked casually as I passed Stefan in the hallway, too busy with my own thoughts at the moment to even wonder why he didn't have Elena with him.

"I, uh, think I saw her go toward the living room?" he said, almost in the form of a question which told me he wasn't certain. "Hey, are you okay?"

I met his eyes briefly. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Remind me, though, I have something to tell you. Don't let me forget, okay? Great."

Then, without giving him a chance to answer, I headed in the direction of the living room as Stefan told me. And there, I witnessed something that surprised even me. Each and every candle in the room lit up by itself, all at once. Just like magic. And Bonnie was at the center of it all. There was no doubt in my mind now that there was one powerful witch inside that tiny body. For an untrained witch, this was seriously epic.

As I stood in the doorway, Bonnie Bennett turned toward me hesitantly, a visibly frightened expression on her face. "Did you see that?" Her voice was broken and soft—completely mortified, as if she was a guilty party caught in some heinous act. And in the moment, felt terribly sympathetic toward the girl.

"Yeah," I murmured, stepping forward. "Bonnie, are you all right?"

Stricken, she put a hand over her mouth and shook her head. "Oh God… I have to get out of here."

"Wait, Bonnie—" I attempted as she brushed past me to escape. "Bonnie, stop, it's okay!" Although I did follow her as far as outside, I could hardly cause a scene in this setting, and so the girl got away, leaving me dateless. Well, I supposed she could hardly remain in denial about being a witch now. _Ugh._

"Hey, what's going on?" Stefan asked, coming up to me with concern in his eyes. "What happened?"

I sighed in exasperation. "It was Bonnie, she witched out on me and then ran off in exactly the way you might expect a hormonal teenage girl to do. Really nice of her to abandon her escort at the party, I guess."

"Stefan!"

 _Oh, what now?_

Elena called out my fake cousin's name and ran up to us, nearly frantic. I moved out of the way between her and Stefan as she spoke. "Listen, I'm sorry. Everything I said before, I take it back. You were right about Damon."

"What?" I asked instinctively. _What did I miss?_

Elena glanced at me, as if only then noticing my presence, but then moved closer to us both carefully. "There are bruises all over Caroline's body—bite marks—and he has her all messed up in the head…"

I felt my lips pull down into a frown. _Oh… so the shoe finally drops. Yikes._

All of the sudden, however, Elena's expression shifted from horror to confusion. "Neither of you—really look surprised."

Stefan stuck his hands in his pockets, clearly uncomfortable with the lie. "Uh—we're handling it."

 _Oh, great answer, dude._

"Handling it?" She shook her head, not understanding. "You should be having him arrested."

"Oh, believe me," I cut in before Stefan could say anything even more stupid than he already had. "Damon is going to be in a crap load of trouble. And I mean that in the most horrible way possible."

Elena shook her head. "What do you even—"

"Please, Elena," Stefan begged softly. "There are things we just can't tell you right now, as much as I wish… You're just going to have to trust me."

"Trust?" Elena raised her eyebrows, glancing back and forth between the two of us. "Trust is earned. I can't—just magically hand it over."

As the overly-emotional girl spoke, I glanced right field and saw Damon in the distance. "Looks like it's time for us to make our exit," I said, patting Stefan on the shoulder and completely forgetting to acknowledge Elena. He said something to her before leaving but I didn't pay close enough attention to know what it was.

Stefan and I inconspicuously approached Damon, who currently had Caroline trapped in his arms. And I consciously ignored the sound his teeth made when they pierced her neck, as well as the sound of his gulps and scent of her blood in the air. In a playful gesture, I reached over to pinch Stefan's nose so he couldn't smell the blood, but he swatted my hand away and gave me a dirty look. I just shrugged at him, only to tense again when I saw Damon push Caroline away, coughing and collapsing weakly on the ground.

"What the hell?" he choked miserably, writhing quietly in the grass.

As Stefan and I emerged, Stefan said quietly, "I knew I couldn't spike your drink—so I spiked hers."

Damon hardly moved in response, but coughed and wheezed out one more sentence before falling unconscious due to the fatigue and the pain. " _Et tu—Vivian?_ "

After the elder brother was out cold, I bent down to help Stefan pick him up and sighed. "Well, I guess that's one way to guilt trip somebody."

"Do you feel guilty?" Stefan asked after a short pause.

I held one of Damon's arms against me tightly. Even as a little voice inside me said otherwise, I simply brushed it off and murmured, "I just want to get this over with." And the two of us dragged Damon away, leaving Caroline passed out in the yard for her friends to find later.

Unfortunately, with everything else on my mind that night, I completely forgot about to tell Stefan about the crystal Damon had stolen from the Lockwood residence. And little did I know that the artifact would soon be far out of my reach.


	8. Chapter 7: All is Well in Mystic Falls

**Hello, friends, and welcome to chapter 7 of The Vampire Diaries: Blood and Fate! This chapter, titled "All is Well in Mystic Falls" mainly follows episode 5 of the original show. And fun fact, "You're Undead to Me" was actually the first episode of TVD that I've ever seen! It wasn't until months later that I actually saw the first four episodes XD**

 **Anyway, this chapter has a little bit of interaction with quite a few of the characters, from Damon, to Stefan, to Bonnie, to Caroline... Mostly it focuses on Vivian trying to get her hands on the crystal Damon took at the Founders Party. Will she get it? You'll just have to wait and see.**

 **I don't know when my next update will be. Hopefully soon, but I am heading back to college for my Sophomore year this weekend, so life is about to get a little bit busier! And by that, I mean A LOT busier. So we'll see what happens. I'll make time eventually :)**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and I will be back whenever the spirit calls me!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own TVD. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction.**

All is Well in Mystic Falls

 _Dear Diary,_

 _It's been days now since Stefan and I filled Damon up with vervain and locked him downstairs in the basement. It won't be long now until he begins to desiccate—his veins rub together like sandpaper, while his throat screams for the taste of blood and his body shuts down. I shudder just thinking about it._

 _So from now on, Damon won't be able to hurt anyone else. "All is well in Mystic Falls," as Stefan might say. But unlike him, I refuse to live under the illusion that I'm doing anything noble here by letting this continue. In fact, what we are doing is probably downright selfish and cruel. But what do I care? In this world, you can't afford to wait around for someone to kill you. You have to protect yourself._

* * *

"What do you want, Viv…?" Damon's voice slurred as he lay limply in his cell. "Not really—" cough, "In the mood for idol chit-chat."

I moved away from the door and leaned my back against the far wall. "Well, I was just wondering—since at this point you may not be seeing daylight any time soon—if you'd be interested in enlightening me a little bit."

"Oh, really?" I heard a faint smile in his tone. "About what?"

"About why you came to Mystic Falls," I said. "Clearly you enjoy tormenting Stefan—causing havoc—making people fear you. But it has to be more than just that. There must be some other motive. So what might that be?"

He laughed weakly. "Keep—wondering. A little mystery's good for ya."

I folded my arms across my chest. "So you plan on taking it to the grave, huh? What's the point? It's not like it really matters anymore, anyway."

"If it doesn't matter… why—are you asking?"

With a smile, I murmured, "Hm… curiosity, I guess." Then, after a short pause I added, "You took something from the Lockwood's at the Founder's Party. A crystal."

"Ah, you heard about that, huh?"

"Where is it?"

"Hell if I know."

I stepped forward and looked in at him as he lay with his head back, his eyes closed. "So you don't have it, then."

"No."

"And I don't suppose you would tell me what it does?"

"Nope."

Nothing less than I expected. But his sealed lips had me frustrated all the same. If he didn't have the crystal, then where was it? Did he leave it somewhere on the Lockwood property? Or maybe Caroline had it? At the same time, I couldn't eliminate the possibility that Damon was lying about its whereabouts—but that wasn't the vibe I received when we spoke. In any case, I had to find some method of getting my hands on it, especially if it had some kind of magic around it Damon hadn't mentioned. I didn't want to risk the crystal ending up in the wrong hands if it turned out to be dangerous.

I headed up the stairs two at a time, on a mission to grab some blood and then head out to find an artifact I had never seen before. _Super._

On my way through the kitchen, I ran into Zach. Snatching a blood bag out of the refrigerator and popping the top with my teeth, I said, "'Sup, Uncle."

Zach's eyes were as scrutinizing as usual. "Were you downstairs?"

"Sure was," I said, squeezing the blood bag out into a mug so that I could heat it up in the microwave. Cold blood tasted gross.

"You really shouldn't be down there," he said. "Damon's too dangerous."

I scoffed. "You're telling me, Zach. Damon is not going to hurt me, nor am I going to team up with him to try to hurt anyone else. I think—the only one who needs to worry about personal safety here is you. So, if I were in your position—I would take your own advice." After the microwave beeped I pulled the warm mug out and grabbed an empty water bottle to make my drink portable.

"Where are you headed in such a hurry?" Zach asked.

"Out for a little run," I replied, taking a swig of my drink. "Ah, that's much better. Okay, so, looks like you'll be alone for a while today. I recommend either getting out of the house or—something. Don't do anything stupid. And stay out of the basement."

"Thanks… don't think I need a patronizing lecture about how to live in my own home."

I looked up when I heard his slightly irritated tone, and then showed my teeth with an intentionally fake smile. "Right… well, tell me that again once you've gotten yourself killed. None of my business. But seriously. Stay away from Damon. I can't guarantee your safety if I'm not around. Just be careful."

His expression changed slightly, perhaps because he realized at that point that I wasn't just being a bitch and actually didn't want him to get himself killed. I tended to have a real issue with people thinking I was heartless all the time. By now, I couldn't help figuring it was a problem with the way I presented myself. Maybe I didn't look like the caring type. Not that I gave much thought to anyone's image of me. People were free to think whatever they wanted. I knew myself well enough.

But finally, Zach gave me a curt nod with his arms crossed. "I will be."

"Great," I said, capping my bottle before hurrying out of the kitchen. "See you later!"

I headed over to the Lockwood Residence first, hoping maybe the crystal was still somewhere on the property. The main problems here were: one, that the Lockwoods owned such a huge estate; and two, that I obviously couldn't be seen by anyone.

Just a random girl wandering around some stranger's property… not like that looked shady or anything.

So when I arrived at the house I first snuck over to the spot where Damon had nearly drained Caroline a few nights ago. I sifted my hands through the grass in hope that the crystal might be here. If Damon had dropped it, there was a high possibility. But there were also a dozen other things that could have happened since I was here last. Someone could have mowed the lawn, or come out here and found it against all the odds. It could have ended up somewhere else entirely. Even for a vampire, finding a needle in a haystack was not an easy task.

After exhausting all my options outside, I decided to sneak back into the house and take a quick search in that room where Damon and Caroline had found the crystal to begin with. However, after checking all the drawers and across the floor, I still came out empty-handed.

 _I'm becoming more and more convinced it's not here… Maybe I'd fair differently with another source…_

I left the Lockwood mansion undetected and took a walk down by Mystic Falls High School, where there were still very few students outside because classes were still in session. However, if my watch was correct, it wouldn't be much longer before the final bell rang. So all I had to do was take a few strolls around the block and they would start coming out eventually. I had to catch Caroline if I wanted to get my information.

Unfortunately, when the day ended and I saw Caroline walk out of the school like a fashion model wannabe, I was disappointed to find that she was surrounded by the small group of girls. Which meant that I couldn't get near her without looking suspicious and having to compel all of them in public. The safer option would be to wait until she was alone—but if she made it home I couldn't enter because I hadn't been invited in yet. And my chance would be gone.

So, instead of taking the risk and diving in headfirst, I stood back and listened to her talk, however eye-roll worthy she sounded.

"Yeah, so don't forget to stop by the fundraiser tomorrow. Make sure not to wear anything you wouldn't be okay with getting wet—oh, and… I'm sure I can trust you ladies to know what you can pull off. Right? Right."

"What are you doing here?"

I tensed in surprise, and then turned around to see Stefan behind me. I hadn't even noticed him come up. "Oh. Stefan. You startled me."

"Why are you spying on Caroline?" he asked, skepticism plain in his eyes. I knew quite well that he trusted me wholeheartedly, but at certain times I got the feeling he worried about my mental impulse control and my ability to be civil to people I didn't like.

While I watched Caroline start down the street with her friends, I asked, "What's tomorrow? A fundraiser or something?"

"A carwash," Stefan replied. "I guess. It's hard to be in the loop when you've been absent from school for days, but, um… Yeah, I think it's the uh, Sexy Suds Carwash or something."

"Sexy?" I murmured with a smirk. "So, what, is the trick to just wear as little clothing as possible?"

"Maybe."

"Are you going?"

"If I can get on Elena's good side by tomorrow, possibly."

I nodded slowly. This would be perfect if I executed it correctly. "Okay. Then I'll just come and say you invited me."

His eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion. "Why—I'm still not sure I understand what's going on."

As I fell into step with him on the sidewalk, I said, "I'm looking for something of Damon's. A crystal." Before Stefan had to waste his time asking questions, I briefly explained, "At the Founder's Party Damon took a crystal from the Lockwoods. I have no idea what it looks like, but I'm currently trying to narrow in on its whereabouts so I can get it."

"Wait, wait—a crystal? What for?"

I shrugged. "What do I know? Damon wouldn't tell me. But he clearly doesn't have it. Which is why I'm looking for it. It could be the very ticket to revealing why he came back to Mystic Falls."

"Okay," Stefan seemed hesitant. "And you didn't mention this earlier because…"

I almost expected myself to be embarrassed, but instead I just lifted and dropped my hands indifferently. "I told you not to let me forget. You know I'm easily overwhelmed. In any case, I'm looking for it now. So I plan on talking to Caroline tomorrow at the fundraiser."

"Hm, I don't know if that's such a good idea…"

 _See what I mean?_ I could already sense the dread in his tone. "Cool off, Stef," I said abruptly, to push his mind off the subject. "I'm not going to do anything to her. I just plan on asking her nicely if she knows where the crystal is and if she has it, I will _ask her nicely_ if she will give it to me."

"You mean you plan on compelling her to hand it over."

I bit my cheek and sighed indifferently. _Here we go…_ "If you want to use that nasty term—"

"There's no other term for it, Vivian," Stefan replied, a little bit of an edge in his voice. "Don't you think Caroline has had enough?"

With a scoff, I said, "If you have a better plan, I'll be glad to hear it. Look." I stepped in front of him with a swift motion and placed my hands firmly on his shoulders. "I know you don't like this, Stefan. I totally respect that. But sometimes—it just has to be done, okay? I promise you—I will talk to Caroline about the crystal, compel her to forget, and that will be it. I am not going to lay a single finger on her. And you know that if I say I won't, that means I won't. End of story. Right?"

He hesitated. "Right. Vivian—okay. Yes. I know, I believe you won't hurt her. I just—after everything with Damon I just want to get on with my life and do everything I can to protect Elena."

"I know that." I nodded. "And I'm going to help you. But I need to get that crystal first so I can find out why it was so important to Damon." He nodded as well in agreement and I patted his shoulders again. "Okay, so… tomorrow, I'll handle Caroline. You just focus on your girl, and we can go back to living our dull, boring, pretend human lives. Sound cool?"

He wasn't a huge fan of my last sentence and tilted his head back while he rolled his eyes slightly. But instead of scolding me or giving me grief about it, he simply responded, "Right."

* * *

Stefan was in a pretty good mood when he came home later that night after cooking dinner for Elena. It seemed that after a little time and Stefan bombarding her with as much about himself as he could safely tell her, Elena finally forgave him.

And thank god. Stefan had been acting like such a zombie for the past few days.

The next morning I struggled deciding what I wanted to wear. Stefan said Caroline called it the _Sexy Suds Carwash…_ which meant I probably had to wear something considered "sexy" in order to meet the approval of my peers. I had to blend in if I wanted to do this the right way, and it would draw too much unwanted attention if I wore a regular old pair of jeans and T-shirt. Maybe if I just threw on some shorts and a tank I would be okay. After all, I wasn't exactly out to please anyone.

And so, I got myself dressed and put my hair up so it wouldn't get all scraggly from the water, and then headed down to the car wash. I gave Stefan a twenty-minute head-start because I wanted him to get in as much bonding time with Elena in without my interference. I worried that if I was showing up with him all the time, it would be a turn off. Couples needed time to be couples. Normal. Even if one of them was a blood-sucking creature of the night.

The sky was clear today, and when I first arrived I had to squint a little due to the reflection of the sun off the wet pavement and all the newly clean cars. Quite a few people had shown up to this shindig. And everyone definitely took the "sexy suds" part seriously. There were girls walking around in bikinis and boys walking around in nothing but trunks. Of course, a hot day like this was perfect for it.

Upon walking past one of the cars, I noticed Stefan and waved. He smiled and lifted up a soapy hand and cloth to wave back, while Elena turned around and did the same. I searched around within the crowd of teenagers for a few moments looking for Caroline, but I ended up running into someone else instead.

"Hey," I said when she saw me.

Bonnie's smile was nervous, and by the way her heart skipped a beat I could tell she wanted nothing more than to run. "Oh… um… I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Stefan invited me," I explained automatically, and she nodded slowly while glancing over toward Stefan and Elena.

"Oh. Right. Cool."

I smiled, hoping to ease up some of her tension. "So—when do I start?"

She pursed her lips slightly and scanned the area quickly. "Uh, I think you'll probably have to talk to Caroline. Oh—there she is. She can be kind of a control freak though, so don't get her riled up."

My smile turned into a little bit of a smirk as I rested my gaze on the tall blonde girl. "No promises."

I began walking toward her, and my smirk only grew wider as I heard Bonnie's low mumble from behind me, "Your funeral." I even found myself chuckling by the time I was close enough to get Caroline's attention.

"Yoohoo, Caroline," I called, causing her to stop and look up when she heard me.

Oddly enough, her eyes lit up and she flashed a toothy smile. "Oh, it's you! Great, I was looking for some extra help around here! Oh…" Her face fell just a little when she glanced down at the rest of me. "Sweetie… is that really what you're wearing?"

I looked down at myself and frowned. "Shorts and a tank-top? Yeah."

She rolled her eyes and huffed. "God, you're as bad as Stefan and Elena. Apparently, no one knows what 'sexy' means. Oh well… I guess you can make it work. You should really let your hair down, though. You'd get so much more attention from the guys. Just sayin'. Anyway…" She pointed. "You can start anywhere you want. Soap and rags are—well—wherever. I'm pretty busy. But I'm sure someone can help you."

Once she was finally done chattering, I nodded and said, "Sure. Thanks, but I just have one more question."

"What?"

I stepped forward and looked her closely in the eye. "Did Damon Salvatore give you anything recently? A crystal, perhaps?"

"That big, gaudy orange thing? Yeah."

 _What? You're kidding._

"You have it?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Where is it?"

"At my house."

At that point, barely able to contain how lucky I felt right about now, I smiled at her. "Okay, Caroline. Listen closely. After you go home today, I want you to get that crystal and meet me tonight at 7 p.m. for dinner at the Grill. Between now and then you will not say anything about me or the crystal to anyone. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

I gave her a thumbs-up. "Great. Carry on." Then, still smiling at her sweetly before turning away, I left her standing in the lot and went to go find myself a rag and a car to wash. At the moment, it seemed that Bonnie was alone so I made my way back over to her, showing my teeth in discomfort.

"Made it," I said, referring to Caroline. "She didn't even give me a problem."

"Probably because _we_ have a problem," Bonnie said, "With people slacking."

"Ah," I said, thinking she was finished only to hear her whisper, "And being little bitches," under her breath as she scrubbed the hood of a tan Lumina. It was much too low for any human ears to pick it up, so I pretended not to notice.

"Anyway," I segued gently into another topic. "How's it coming? Need any of my car-washing expertise?"

She glanced up at me with a twinkle in her eyes and finally managed to let out a chuckle. "I didn't know it was that complex a trade."

With a shrug, I said, "I'm sure someone must be an expert. You'd be surprised at the skill it takes to do certain things." I dunked my rag in a bucket of soapy water and began scrubbing one of the windows.

In reply, Bonnie simply tilted her head in agreement and smiled. She worked in silence for a moment, but then raised a curious eyebrow at me. "So… were you really invited? Or did you just come to spy on Stefan and Elena?"

I opened my mouth in mock surprise. "Me? Spy on Stefan and his new girlfriend? That's absurd."

"I'm starting to wonder if it's gone past cute and straight to creepy, actually," she replied, although her tone was playful.

I laughed out loud, remembering her comment from a few days ago, and shook my head. "Does it seem creepy to you? No—he really did say I could come. I wanted to help out today. Get outside and enjoy the sun. Plus, other than you guys I don't really have many friends in Mystic Falls yet, so…" I gave a tiny, closed-lipped smile.

"Right—I wasn't thinking of that. I didn't mean to pick on you…"

I waved my hand dismissively. "Nah, it's fine. No offense taken. I do look out for him a lot. You could say—Damon and I kind of became parental figures for him after their mom and dad passed away. Sometimes I do forget that he's not a kid anymore."

"Damon…" She said the name as if just hearing it disturbed her, and then lowered her voice. "Uh… did you—know about what he did? To Caroline, I mean?"

I paused, not having expected her to ask about that little incident. But then again, maybe I should have known better than to mention Damon in the first place. "Yes, I am quite aware," I allowed. "But—he's gone now. So I don't think he'll be a problem, anymore."

Frankly, for all the times I internally made fun of Stefan for stumbling over the lies he fed to Elena, it was every bit as difficult to come up with suitable answers for Bonnie. I couldn't exactly give specifics. And for that matter, I didn't want her getting the wrong idea and thinking Stefan and I banded together and murdered him or something. I couldn't imagine that one going over well.

Bonnie didn't seem entirely comfortable with my answer, but she simply responded with a quiet "oh" and didn't press the issue farther. If she had, I might have had to compel her, an option to which I felt disinclined to resort in her case.

 _Guess it's because you actually_ like _her._

Yes, despite the fact that she was a witch who could undoubtedly become a frightening adversary in the future if she found out that I was a vampire, I actually liked Bonnie Bennett and enjoyed her company. She was so bubbly and sweet and innocent—in fact, she reminded me a little bit of my former self. Took me back to when I was just a young human girl.

Now I was a 150-year-old trapped in a 19-year-old body. Which, the more I thought about it, the more that didn't seem like such a bad deal. I mean, I didn't have to deal with old age or illness. I was forever kicking and I didn't even have to worry about creeps because I was stronger than all of them. But even I couldn't deny that it got lonely at times.

So, although my reason for coming was already taken care of, now that I was here I knew I couldn't easily slip away and I ended up spending my afternoon washing cars with Bonnie. When it came to her, it seemed like each time we met she became tense, but relaxed over time as I got her talking. It felt oddly natural making jokes and laughing with Bonnie, as if I'd known her far longer than just a few weeks. And the time passed quickly even though we were performing manual labor under the hot sun.

"You doing all right?" I asked as she stopped briefly to rub her forehead.

Brushing her hair back slightly, she said, "Oh, yeah. It's just hot out. I think—I think I'm gonna get a water. I'll get you one too, okay?"

She turned and started walking away before I had the chance to decline, so I decided to just let it go and accept the drink. After a moment she returned with two bottles, one for herself and one for me, which she held out silently.

"Thanks," I murmured, opening the bottle as I watched Bonnie guzzle hers.

"Ah, that's better," she sighed, leaning against the car beside us. "Hey, did you put on any sunscreen today? You look like you'd burn really easily."

 _Ha ha. You have no idea._

"Actually, I put a little on this morning," I replied. "You're right, though, this pale skin reddens up fast. I look like a lobster." I laughed, even though I knew I was feeding her false information. Whether or not I wore sunscreen said nothing for my health and I hadn't turned into a lobster since probably 1875 or '76. But I couldn't tell her I didn't burn. Anyone with pale skin like mine would without fail. And although I technically _did_ burn, it obviously wasn't in the way she was referring to.

"Hey." We both turned to where a taller girl in a bikini top stood, two brooms in her hands. "Sweeper duty."

"What?" Bonnie asked, sounding as confused as I felt.

"We need to clean the pavement," the girl said, a mildly smug expression on her face.

I scoffed. "At a _car wash?_ "

"Obviously the pavement's clean," Bonnie agreed.

"But not dry."

Bonnie raised her eyebrows, her stance a natural message of defiance. "And we're doing this, why?"

The girl stepped forward and handed us the brooms in a nonchalant fashion. "Caroline bailed. Which leaves me in charge." She smiled. "Fabulous."

I gave her a dirty look as she walked away, but I had my mind mainly focused on Caroline. Glancing around and realizing she was no longer present, it occurred to me that I hadn't even noticed her absence. But where could she have gone? Especially if she was in charge, she really didn't seem like the type of girl to abandon her post. She was definitely more the type who liked to be in control.

I didn't get much time to worry about Princess Blondie, however, as I noticed that the pavement in front of me had started smoking. I flinched backward when it ignited into a small flame and turned toward Bonnie, who was staring at the flame but appeared to be in her own little world.

"Bonnie," I said, in an effort to get her attention. The flame spread quickly, lighting a car on fire a few yards away. "Bonnie." I put a hand on her shoulder as people nearby began screaming in panic. "Hey, Bonnie!"

Even more swiftly than it started, the fire died down and disappeared, leaving the blue car mostly unscathed with only some smoke rising from the bottom. Bonnie looked at me with wide eyes as I dropped my hand. "Are you all right?"

"I…" The hesitation was clear in her voice and she turned back to rest her gaze on the car she'd nearly torched, watching people recover from the frightening sight. "Did I do that?"

"It looks that way."

Suddenly we were eye to eye, and it was only then that I realized we were about the same height. "Did anyone see?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure everyone saw—"

"No—I mean, did they see _me?_ "

"Oh… No, I don't think so."

She nodded carefully. "You won't tell anyone, right? Will you?"

I could see just by watching her that her new powers had her spooked. Apparently, up until recently she didn't even remotely believe her grandmother's claims that she was a witch. But now—I imagined it was becoming harder and harder for her to deny it.

I shook my head. "No—no, of course not. Your secret's safe with me."

Bonnie released a tiny, humorless laugh. "This stuff—keeps happening to me and you act like it's no big deal. I really don't understand."

I tossed my hands up. "So you're possibly turning into a fire-starter witchy person. Happens to the best of us. In any case, I don't judge." Then, more softly, I murmured, "I think it's okay to be scared. And it's okay if you don't want to talk about it, or whatever. But if you decide you need me for anything, I'm around. That's a perk of having me as your friend. I got your back. 'Kay?"

While she appeared almost bewildered at first, Bonnie granted me a small smile and nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Vivian. Now, um… I suppose we should probably get back to work before Tiki comes over to bitch at us again."

"If she does I'll just have to bitch right back," I said, causing her to laugh despite her obvious emotional turmoil. "So Caroline left? Any idea where she might have gone?"

Bonnie shook her head as she swept the pavement with disinterest. "No. And I'm surprised. It isn't really like her to take off."

Just that moment, Stefan walked over to us with a slight look of distress in his eyes. "Hey, have either of you seen Elena?"

Bonnie frowned. "Did she leave, too?"

"I don't know," he replied. "She just—sort of disappeared."

I glanced up at the sky for a moment. It was already late in the day and the sun was starting to go down. The fundraiser would probably be closing up soon as well. I was eager to find Caroline and Stefan was eager to find Elena, but I couldn't exactly ditch Bonnie and leave her to finish up by herself.

"I have to finish up here," I said, "But give me a call if you find her. I'll catch up with you in a little bit."

Stefan nodded at me and then left with a little extra spring in his step, as if something about Elena's disappearance had him worried. Granted, it did seem a little mysterious that she would simply take off without telling him anything.

I glanced at my watch. A little less than two hours until I had to meet Caroline at the Grill. I was still counting on the fact that she would be there as I ordered her to, but I still found myself rushing through the rest of the work so that I could get going as soon as possible.

"You'll be okay getting home and everything, right?" I asked Bonnie.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she said. "Uh—you didn't want a ride, did you?"

The last thing I wanted to do was answer more questions and stall myself further, but I remained patient in an effort to look fairly normal for Bonnie. "No, actually, I think I'm good tonight. But thanks. I'll give you a call later this week, okay?"

And with that, I left, walking as quickly as I could without appearing frantic until I reached an area where no one would see me. I used my vamp-speed the rest of the way, but instead of heading straight to the Grill, I decided to use what extra time I had to stop at home. I wasn't sure what compelled me to do it, but I knew something wasn't right the instant I stepped through the door. It was too quiet.

The first place I thought to go was the basement, where I witnessed perhaps the most disturbing snapshot I had seen in ages.

"Zach," I breathed, darting across the room and bending down to place my hand on the new corpse's chest. He hadn't been dead for long. A couple hours at the most. But to top it off, Damon's cell door sat wide open, and Damon himself was nowhere to be found. Someone had opened the door for him.

"Zach, you idiot," I whispered, a weight settling in on my chest as I observed his broken neck. Fighting to compose myself, I stood up and pulled out my phone, which I used to dial Stefan's number.

"Hello?" His voice sounded even, unsuspecting, which told me he still had no idea about Damon's escape.

I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. "Stefan. Did you find Elena?"

"No, I'm not sure where she could be. She didn't answer my call, either. Why? What's wrong?"

"Sorry to have to put a pause to your search, but I think you should come home. Now."

"What happened?"

With a sigh, I glanced at Zach's body and pinched the furrow of my brow, unable to accurately describe to Stefan the depth of my frustration in this moment. And I could hardly imagine Stefan's reaction once he realized Zach was dead. So instead of jumping into a full-blown explanation right away, I gave him the simplest answer I could muster: "Damon happened."


End file.
